SWIMMING: Fast times at Hart High....and it's only the prelims

Jordan Danny, Maggie Hanson and Nick Korth didn't waste any time launching what promises to be an assault on the Foothill League championship records at Thursday's final by setting meet standards at Tuesday's prelims at Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

Danny lowered her own record in the 200-yard individual medley from 2:04.83 last year to 2:04.75, setting her up for the possibility Thursday of improving on her mark of 2:03.18 from last season's Southern Section Div. II final. The USC-bound Danny also put herself in position to break her own record of 1:01.73 in the 100 breaststroke by clocking 1:02.87.

Hanson, who set Hart's program record in the 200 freestyle (1:54.07) last Wednesday, broke a 12-year-old meet record with an effort of 1:54.94. Saugus' Heather Boylan held the previous mark of 1:55.07, set in 1997. Hanson qualified second for Thursday's 100 butterfly final with a mark of 58.14, trailing defending-champion and record-holder Kearsten Livingstone of Canyon (57.90).

Nick Korth took down one of the most prestigious boys' records in the books, clocking 57.26 in the 100 breaststroke to erase the 2004 mark of 57.55 set by Saugus' John Criste, who went on to swim at Mission Viejo and Stanford. Korth clocked a program-record 57.59 last Wednesday against Saugus, before lowering the mark again Tuesday.

Golden Valley's Michelle Duraj posted the fastest qualifying time in the 50 free (24.39) and 100 free (53.80), with Hart freshman Nicole Antoniuk leading the way in the 500 free (5:11.59) and senior teammate Chelsea Griffiths in pursuit of lowering her own meet record in the 100 backstroke (58.62) by clocking a prelim time of 59.37.

Valencia's Bob Hwang is the top qualifier in the 100 butterfly (51.94) and 200 individual medley (1:59.15) and Canyon's Keaunui Harris posted the fastest prelim marks in the 100 free (47.90) and 100 backstroke (54.22).

Hart's Konrad Antoniuk is leading the pack in the 200 free (1:48.30) and 500 free (4:43.89), with Valencia's Bryan Kitchener swimming the fastest prelim time in the 50 free (22.25).

All the individual finals, as well as relays, will be contested Thursday. In the boys' team competition, Hart and Valencia are expected to battle for the title, while Canyon will try to knock off Hart in the girls' meet.