Mission Viejo Girls Defend Their Title : Swimming: San Marino boys win, marking first time since 1969 that an Orange County team fails to take first at 4-A meet.

LONG BEACH —  Claudia Franco, swimmer for Mission Viejo High School, wanted to prove that last season was no fluke. She and her teammates did.

The Diablos controled the Southern Section 4-A meet, defeating South Coast League rival El Toro, 201-170.

It was the second consecutive 4-A title for the Diablos, who edged Foothill last season, and the 13th in the school’s history.

In the boys’ competition, San Marino had an easy time of it. The Titans finished with 243 points, 73 more than second-place Mission Viejo.

It’s the first time since 1969 that an Orange County team has not won the 4-A meet.

“We were not really sure of ourselves last season,” said Franco, a sophomore. “But we knew we could win this year. We felt it was important to repeat.”

Franco was a big part of the victory. She won the 50-yard freestyle and finished second in the 100 freestyle.

She also swam a leg of the 400 freestyle relay, which won.

Shona Baille was the only other Diablo to win an individual event. She finished first in the 100 butterfly.

Mission Viejo demonstrated its depth in the butterfly. Three Diablos finished in the top five: Baille, Barbara Franco (second) and Leslie Rhee (fifth.).

Before the butterfly, El Toro led by a half point. After the race, Mission Viejo had a 35-point lead.

“We knew that would be the turning point,” Mission Viejo girls’ Coach Jan Most said. “We have three quality swimmers in the butterfly. It gives us a tremendous advantage.”

San Marino also showed great depth in winning the boys’ title. The Titans swept all three relays, the 200-yard individual medley, the 200 and 400 freestyle. The Titans tied the national high school record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:33.21.

“I knew before the season that we had the best team in the 4-A,” said Coach Burt Kanner, whose teams have won seven 3-A titles. “We had too many quality swimmers.” The school just moved to 4-A this year.

Eric Diehl led Mission Viejo, winning the 200 and 500 freestyles for the second consecutive year.

In the 500 freestyle, Diehl swam the fastest high school time in the nation, 4:20.86. He finished 11 seconds ahead of second-place Ben Swantout of Rio Mesa.

In the 200 freestyle, Diehl swam the second fastest high school time in the nation, 1:35.55. It also broke the Southern Section 4-A record of 1:37.15 set by Brian Goodell in 1977.

Diehl also broke the 4-A 50 freestyle record of 20.72, set by Fountain Valley’s Mike Kelly in 1977. Diehl swam a 20.65 in the first leg of the 200 freestyle.

However, Diehl’s solo performance wasn’t enough to overcome the depth of San Marino.

San Marino also got strong individual performances from Mike Mason and Dan Kanner. Mason won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and Kanner won the 100 freestyle.

Michelle Ham won the girls’ 200 individual medley for the second consecutive year with a time of 1:50.76. However, she failed to win the 100 breaststroke, losing to Michelle Perry of El Toro.

Ham was the two-time defending champion in the breaststroke.

El Toro won the 200 individual medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, but did not have the depth to stay with the Diablos.

The best race of the meet was the 100 backstroke, which featured defending champions from all three Southern Section Divisions. Jason Stelle of Agoura, who won the 2-A last season, won, setting a 4-A record with a time of 49.62.

Steve Barnicoat set the previous record of 50.68 in 1980.

Tom Wescott of Huntington Beach, the defending 4-A champion, finished second but also went under 50 seconds (49.94). Daizo Mitsouka of San Marino, the defending 3-A champion, finished third.