Costa Mesa swimming sweeps rival Estancia in Battle for the Bell meet

Augie Cunningham has swum the 500-yard freestyle in under five minutes in previous years, but never so early in the season.

So when the Costa Mesa High senior touched in a winning time of 4 minutes 59.19 seconds during Wednesday’s Orange Coast League meet against rival Estancia, he was excited.

“Getting that time now kind of sets me up better for the rest of the year, so I can go faster at league [finals] and hopefully get the school record,” Cunningham said. “That’s what I’m chasing after. It’ll be hard, but we’ll see.”

Cunningham knows that he still has a way to go to approach George Sushkoff’s time of 4:34.10 from 1983. But he also knows that he did his part Wednesday to help the Mustangs extend their dominance over their cross-town rivals.

At its home pool, Costa Mesa swept the Battle for the Bell meet for the fourth straight year. The Mustang boys prevailed 102-68, while the Costa Mesa girls won 116-53.

Cunningham also won the 200 freestyle (1:52.95), one of three double winners as Costa Mesa’s boys improved to 3-1 in league dual meets. Senior Felix Rivera won the 200 individual medley in 2:13.64 and the 100 butterfly in 1:00.88 for the Mustangs, while sophomore Aidan Blair captured the 50 free (23.09 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (56.01) for the winners.

Costa Mesa overcame disqualifications in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays to beat Estancia (1-2 in league).

“We’re still working toward league finals,” said Costa Mesa coach Tim Postiff, whose team suffered its only league loss this season by a 96.5-73.5 score at Laguna Beach on March 21. “If things come together right, we can give Laguna a run for [its] money.”

Senior Cobi White won the 100 freestyle in 49.27 and was second in the 100 back (1:05.95) for Estancia. The other individual event winner was sophomore Marshall Rucknagel after Costa Mesa’s first-place finisher was disqualified in the 100 breaststroke.

Sey Currie was a standout for the Costa Mesa girls (3-1 in league). The sophomore won the 50 free in 27.33 and the 100 free in a personal-best 59.95. She also anchored the Mustangs’ winning 200- and 400-freestyle relays. Both of the relays also featured senior Kaylie Tickenoff and freshman Hannah Reese, with Alyssa LeCours in the 200 and Sophie Blair in the 400.

“She was super-excited to break the minute,” Postiff said of Currie. “She had a great meet.”

Freshman Michelle Kiefer was the Mustangs’ other double winner, as she touched first in the 200 freestyle (2:28.58) and breaststroke (1:19.55). LeCours won the 500 free for Mesa in 6:11.16 and also swam anchor as the Mustangs rallied to win the 200 medley relay in 2:12.31. Ta’iuta Uiagalelei, Kiefer and Blair were the other three members of the winning relay.

LeCours, a junior, gasped in delight after she found out her freestyle split in the medley relay was 27.67, which she said was her fastest ever.

“I was very excited,” she said. “I was nervous at first [during the race], but when I touched the wall I was really pumped. It helped me do well the rest of the meet.”

Sophomore Sydni White won the 200 IM (2:37.19) and 100 backstroke (1:11.10) for Estancia’s girls, who dropped to 0-3 in league. The Eagles’ other winner was senior Annie Mitchell in the butterfly, touching in 1:18.29.

“I know I could swim faster, but I’m just glad that I got it done in the place that I got,” White said. “They’re our cross-town rival, so it just feels good to get first in my events against them.”

Costa Mesa returns to league action with a home meet against Godinez on April 11, while Estancia swims at Laguna Beach on the same day.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo