SWIMMING NOTEBOOK: QUARTZ HILL'S COLVIN IN A ZONE AT UTAH COMPETITION.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

After a grueling final month of the long-course swim season, Sarah Colvin was seeking a week of relatively stress-free competition in Kearns, Utah.

It wound up being the highlight of her summer.

After competing in the California/Nevada Summer Sectionals in Clovis and the Southern California Junior Olympics in Fullerton, a relaxed Colvin excelled at the annual Western Zone Championships, helping Southern California win its third consecutive title.

``After sectionals and JOs, I was pretty sure I was going to do well,'' said the San Jose State-bound Colvin, a Quartz Hill High graduate. ``The meet I really focused on was sectionals. So after that, all the pressure was off.''

Colvin, who competes for Canyons Aquatic Club, won the 100-meter backstroke in the girls' 17- and 18-year-old division and contributed to victories in the 200 and 400 medley relays for Southern California, which defeated the Northern California-based Pacific Swim 1,876-1,508.

Also contributing on the relays were Irvine Novaquatics' Danielle Arad (Tarbut V'Torah of Irvine), Swim Pasadena's Trinity O'Neill (home schooled, lives in Monrovia), Mission Viejo Nadadores' Alex Peters (Capistrano Valley of Mission Viejo) and Team Santa Monica's Karina Silvester (Harvard-Westlake of Studio City). Shannon Colavito, who attends Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas and competes for the Clark County Sandpipers, also swam in the relays because Southern California Swimming's boundaries extend into Southern Nevada.

Colvin, 17, said she was impressed with how everybody meshed.

``It was better than I expected,'' said Colvin, who also finished second in the 50 freestyle, fourth in the 100 free and fifth in the 100 butterfly. ``A lot of us knew each other from club swimming, but it was good to all be on the same team. I was kind of surprised how well we did, because I know some of the girls on Pacific, and they have a lot of good swimmers.''

Colvin said swimming at an altitude of 5,000 feet was difficult, especially after competing in nine events in a five-day span at the Junior Olympics before leaving for Utah on Aug. 8.

``By the third day, I could feel it,'' said Colvin, who also contributed to Southern California's second-place finish in the 400 free relay and third place in the 200 free relay. ``It was very, very difficult.''

Fatigue aside, Colvin's success at the meet has her confidence at a high two days before she leaves for her first semester at San Jose State.

``(The format at the Western Zone Championships) was more like a high school quad meet, and I always do well in those,'' she said. ``I feel really good about how I swam, and I feel like I ended my club swim season really well.''

Colvin is excited to start training at San Jose State, especially because it will allow her to return to short-course competition, something she thinks benefits her more because of her turns and transitions off the walls.

``I'm stronger in short-course (pools),'' said Colvin, who expects to contribute in the backstroke, butterfly and freestyle in her freshman season. ``And I have more confidence in myself after this summer.''

Erik Boal, [phone]

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com