SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS : Mission Viejo Boys Make Return Trip to the Top

A little foreign aid helped the Mission Viejo boys’ swim team reclaim the Southern Section 4-A championship Friday night.

The Diablos, on the strength of Adam Grodzki and Marcin Malinski, eased to victory with 175 points. Ventura Buena finished second with 129.

With its two swimmers from Poland, Mission Viejo was even able to overcome a disqualification in the 200-yard medley relay. By the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, only another miscue could have cost the Diablos the title.

It was the first championship since 1988 for Mission Viejo, which had finished second the past three seasons. The Diablos won 14 consecutive 4-A titles from 1975-88.

“I tell you, it may have been only three or four years since we won it, but it felt like 80,” Coach Mike Pelton said.

In the girls’ competition, Buena became the first non-Orange County team to win the team championship since the 4-A meet began in 1972. The Bulldogs edged Capistrano Valley, 173-169.

The Cougars came into the meet with 51 points, thanks to their four divers who competed in the 4-A championship Wednesday.

Joy Burkholder won the diving, Summer Brown was second, Darcy Stuart was third and Shannon Brown fifth. It gave the Cougars a seemingly comfortable working margin.

“I love diving,” Capistrano Valley Coach Bob Skelley said. “It is called the swimming and diving championships. We’ll take the points anywhere we can get them.”

The Cougars did get a strong performance from Lisa Jacob. She won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute 49.44 seconds and the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:50.60.

But one swimmer and a slew of divers were not enough. The only other Capistrano Valley swimmer to qualify for a championship final was freshman Cathy Carone, who finished fourth in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

Buena, which scored no points in diving, had seven swimmers in the championship finals. The best of them was Mandy Walz, who set a 4-A record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.22, which was .01 below Amy White’s record in 1984. Walz also finished sixth in the 200 freestyle.

“Way we figured, Capo didn’t have people and we thought we could catch up,” Buena Coach John Siman said.

The Mission Viejo girls’ team, which had won back-to-back 4-A titles, was favored to make it three in a row this year. But the Diablos were beset by defections because of the Olympics.

Claudia and Barbara Franco did not return this season because they were training to make the Spanish Olympic team. Shona Baille was training to make the Canadian team.

Mission Viejo also lost Paola Melendez and Vivanne Sanchez from this year’s team. Both were training to make the Mexican Olympic team.

The Diablo boys’ team, on the other hand, had no such problems. They got plenty of help from foreign swimmers.

Malinski, who will swim for the Polish Olympic team, set a Southern Section record in the 200 individual medley. His time of 1:49.13 was just under Jesse Vassallo’s record of 1:49.80, set in 1979. Malinski also won the 100 breaststroke.

Grodzki won the 200 and 500 freestyles.

The Diablos also got a strong performance from Matt Turnbull, who was questionable earlier in the week because of the chicken pox. However, he finished fourth in the 100 backstroke and sixth in the 200 freestyle.