Once Again, Mission Viejo Rules the Waves : Swimming: Diablos, winners of 11 consecutive 4-A titles between 1976-86, are back on top again thanks to home-grown and imported talent.

Kristine Palle remembers the dynasty well. The waning days of it, anyway.

When she was in elementary school, she watched her sister swim for Mission Viejo High School. In those days, there were two levels of high school swimming--Mission Viejo and the rest of the pack.

The Diablos won 11 consecutive Southern Section 4-A titles between 1976-86, sometimes by as many as 200 points.

“I grew up watching Mission Viejo swim meets,” said Palle, now a junior. “I remember the excitement and I remember that Mission Viejo always won. I wanted to be a part of that tradition.”

Tradition took a holiday for awhile, but, according to Palle and her teammates, it’s back.

After three successive, gulp , second-place finishes, the Diablos are on top again. A year ago, they won the final event to beat Foothill and El Toro for the 4-A championship, their first title since 1986.

At the core of this resurgence is a group of swimmers, all of whom figured prominently in bringing another championship to Mission Viejo. And, without a senior on the squad, the Diablos might just be getting started again.

“We’ve had some outstanding teams here, so it’s difficult to compare them,” Mission Viejo Coach Jan Most said. “But this is the first time we’ve had this many talented young swimmers.”

The Diablos have re-established themselves with home-grown and imported talent. It was a mix that worked well during their heyday, when a number of foreign-born swimmers came to the area to train with the Mission Viejo Nadadores. In those years, the Nadadores were the most reknown club team in the world.

Barbara and Claudia Franco are from Spain, Shona Baille is from Canada and Katarina Triska is from Sweden. Those four teamed with California natives Palle, Jennifer Greenfield and Leslie Rhee to form a formidable team.

“I think having so many people from other countries has helped us unite,” Rhee said. “We had to get to know each other and that made us a team.”

The Francos moved to Mission Viejo five years ago, after stops in New Jersey and Texas. They selected Mission Viejo, in part, because of swimming.

Barbara, a junior, and Claudia, a sophomore, are on the Spanish national team and wanted to train with the Nadadores.

Baille, a junior, moved from Trona in Ontario, Canada, when she was 6. Her father, an architect, picked the area because of the Nadadores.

She plans to return to Canada this summer and attempt to qualify for the Canadian Olympic team.

Triska, a junior, lived in five countries before moving to Mission Viejo in late February of 1990. She also came here to train with the Nadadores, but is skipping club competition this season to concentrate on high school swimming.

Rhee, a junior, was born in Santa Barbara, but her family moved to Laguna Hills when she was 5. She joined the Nadadores when she was 12, then switched to the Saddleback Valley Aquatics.

Palle grew up in Mission Viejo and has been swimming competitively since she was 5. She also swims for Saddleback Valley.

Greenfield is another Mission Viejo native and swims for the Nadadores.

“We learned from each other,” Palle said. “And we learned we needed each other to win.”

A year ago, they were unsure of their abilities and short on experience. There were no seniors on the team to offer leadership and they struggled early in the season.

The Diablos watched South Coast League rival El Toro win the Southern Section relays and then lost to the Chargers in a dual meet.

But as the league finals approached, the Diablos began to come together. Still, there were doubts.

“We didn’t feel like we could beat El Toro in the league finals,” Rhee said. “But as the meet went along, we were right with them. I started thinking we could do it.”

The meet was close coming down to the final race, the 400-yard freestyle. However, the Diablos never got a chance to swim the event because their team missed the start.

“We were standing there, waiting for the race, and all of a sudden every one was yelling at us,” Claudia Franco said. “We thought there was another (boys’) heat. Jennifer tried to jump in and start swimming, but it was too late.”

Said Most: “No one could feel as bad about it than those four girls. I just told them to forget about it.”

Instead, the Diablos rallied around the mistake.

“We knew we would have won the race and the (league) meet,” Baille said. “We had lost to El Toro at the relays, in the dual meet and in the league meet. We were determined not to lose to them again.”

Mission Viejo won only one individual race at the 4-A meet, as Baille finished first in the 100-yard butterfly. However, the Diablos’ depth kept them close.

The seven swimmers scored points in 11 races.

Claudia Franco finished third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 1,200 freestyle. Barbara Franco finished second in the 100 butterfly. Triska finished third in the 500 freestyle.

The meet came down to the final race, the 400 freestyle relay--the same event that had cost Mission Viejo the league title.

“I was swimming the anchor leg and I remember standing on the blocks and hearing the noise get louder and louder,” Claudia Franco said. “It really pumped me up.”

Franco trailed Cindy Focht of El Toro as the final leg started, but pulled even with 50 yards to go. She went ahead after the turn, then held off a last effort by Focht to win.

“Last year was such a surprise to us,” Claudia Franco said. “We really weren’t too sure if we could win. This year, we know we can win.”

The Diablos are proving that.

They have added two talented freshmen, Melissa Kuser and Lisa Hislop. With that added depth, they went undefeated in league dual meets and will attempt to win the league finals Wednesday.

Even in defeat, the Diablos have demonstrated their talent. At the Southern Section Relays, they had their backstroke team disqualified but still finished second to El Toro.

“We’re more prepared this season and more confident,” Palle said. “We know we have the talent. We are capable of winning again this year and next year.”

An accomplishment that would have dynasty rewritten all over it.

THEY’RE COMING BACK FOR MORE

Swimmer: Shona Baille Year: Sophmore 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: First in 100 butterfly, sixth in 200 individual medley.

Swimmer: Barbara Franco Year: Junior 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Second in 100 butterfly, seventh in 200 freestyle.

Swimmer: Claudia Franco Year: Sophmore 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Third in 50 freestyle, fourth in 100 freestyle.

Swimmer: Jennifer Greenfield Year: Sophmore 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Eighth in the 50 freestyle.

Swimmer: Kristine Palle Year: Junior 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Ninth in 500 freestyle.

Swimmer: Leslie Rhee Year: Junior 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Ninth in 100 butterfly, ninth in 100 backstroke.

Swimmer:Katarina Triska Year: Junior 4-A Section Meet Performance in 1990: Third in 500 freestyle.