HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING : San Marino Breaks Lock of Orange County

It took an entire swim meet to confirm what Burt Kanner already knew--the San Marino High boys’ team was the best in the Southern Section 4-A.

Kanner, who is retiring after 35 years as the Titans’ coach, watched his team dominate the meet at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. San Marino finished with 243 points, 73 ahead of second-place Mission Viejo.

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

In the girls’ meet, Mission Viejo won its second consecutive 4-A title. The Diablos beat El Toro, 201-170.

San Marino showed its depth by sweeping all three relays--the 200-yard medley and the 200- and 400-yard freestyles. The Titans tied the national high school record in the 200 medley with a time of 1:33.21.

“I knew before the season that we had the best team in the 4-A,” said Kanner, whose teams have won seven 3-A titles. “We had too many quality swimmers.”

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.

The Mission Viejo girls received strong performances from Claudia Franco, who won the 50-yard freestyle, and Shona Baille, who won the 100-yard butterfly.