Grossmont North League boys champion B.J. Lines closed out his senior year with a sixth-place finish. Lines bettered his entry mark of 329.90 points with a finals performance of 330.25 points to place ahead of Grossmont South League champion William Glowniak of Granite Hills (ninth, 295.25 points). Lines secured his position on the strength of his final dive — a forward double somersault from the tuck position.

"I wanted to be consistent in my diving — doing what I knew I could do and come in expecting the best," said Lines, who improved greatly on his 11th place showing as a junior. "I think I did really well. Of course, I would like to have done better but I think I did well."

Lines’ top score of the season came at the Santana Invitational at Helix High when he placed second with 357 points.

Glowniak, meanwhile, relied on raw talent to surpass his entry score of 271.75 points. Because of outside commitments, the senior had been limited to just four practices in the past month. He did not dive his junior year after competing as a sophomore.

"William really out a lot of effort into the meet to approach B.J., who is an experienced diver. To be close to B.J., William had to show off all his talents," said Granite Hills dive coach Alexis Rogers (who also doubles as the Grossmont dive coach).

"The key to diving is waiting," said Glowniak, who admitted he realistically did not expect to make it to the second round. "You win it when you go high and lose it when you rush it."

West Hills senior Carissa Fite (Grossmont North League champion) finished 12th in the Division I girls diving competition.

Two Metro Conference divers — Chula Vista senior Alex Soto and Bonita Vista junior Brittany Aland — made the All-San Diego Section classification at this year’s Division I championship. Soto, the conference’s reigning two-time boys champion, finished seventh in the 17-deep boys field; Aland finished 10th in the 21-deep girls field. The section recognizes the top 12 finishers: the top six finishers receive championship medals while the final six divers are bestowed with consolation status.

Soto won the conference’s 2002 title with a career-best 345.65 point total and had hoped to better that at the division finals. He entered the meet with the third-highest seed mark, trailing only defending two-time champion Dustin Watson of Poway (430.55) and Rancho Buena Vista senior Charlie Slender (367.80). However, an incomplete dive on Soto’s part in the 10th round of the 11-dive card severely hurt his chances of overtaking West Hills senior B.J. Lines (the Grossmont North League champion) for the final championship medalist position. Soto finished with 325.60 points to Lines’ sixth-place score of 330.25 points. Lines and Soto were the two highest non-North County place-finishers in the meet.

Watson won his third consecutive Division I title with a school record 473.35 points.

Both Soto and Aland were the only two of the five participating Metro divers to make the final cut to 12 divers and complete their final three dives.

“He can’t be disappointed. He performed well all season. He came to CIF. We’re happy,” said Chula Vista swim coach Joel Lopez of the University of Hawaii-bound Soto. “It’s a good way to end the season and it’s a good way for a senior to end school.”

Aland finished as the highest non-North County diver with a score of 285.50 points, though she failed to meet her seed score of 298.25 points. The Baron diver has finished second the past two years at the conference meet. This year’s champion, Eastlake sophomore Samantha Womer, just missed making the final cut of 12 divers. Womer finished with 202.40 points for eight dives after winning the 11-dive Metro card with 282.80 points. Aland’s Metro scorecard stood at 275.40 points.

Bonita Vista sophomore Sarah Perez finished 18th after failing to make the initial cut down to 16 divers. Perez was third at the conference finals with 244.05 points.