SOUTHERN SECTION SWIMMING RELAYS : El Toro Shows Strength, Depth

In the past few years, the South Coast League has been a two-team race when it came to boys’ swimming.

Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley high schools were well ahead of the pack.

But judging by Saturday night’s Southern Section Relays, the Diablos and Cougars may be in for some competition this season.

El Toro dominated the meet at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach, winning two of the seven relays and finishing second in a third.

The Chargers finished with 226 points to win the relays for the first time since 1984. El Toro finished well ahead of Villa Park and San Marino, which tied for second place with 162 points.

Foothill was fourth with 160 points, followed by Irvine (148).

“This was a very big meet for us,” El Toro Coach Jeff Grosse said. “It can be a great motivational tool to build confidence.”

Confidence is hardly a problem for the Chargers, who are 7-0 in dual meets this season. They figure to be in the running for the league title.

“El Toro may be the best dual-meet team in Orange County,” Mission Viejo Coach Mike Pelton said. “They’re tough to beat because they have so much depth.”

The Chargers qualified a relay team for each of the seven championship heats. They won the 200-yard backstroke (1 minute 43.31 seconds) and 400 freestyle (3:17.66).

El Toro was second to Palm Springs in the 400 medley.

Although the Chargers lack a superstar, they do have several strong swimmers. Nate Julson, a senior, anchored the backstroke team and had a personnel-best 48.1 in his leg of the 100 free.

Freshman John Simmons also had strong performances in the backstroke and freestyle relays.

“This is the first indicator of the season,” Grosse said. “Up until now, everyone has been going by last year’s results and guessing. I think we showed tonight that we have a very strong team.”