1993 PREP PREVIEW / BOYS SWIMMING : After His Surprising Rise to Top, Simmons Plans to Stay There : El Toro: He won the 4-A 100 backstroke and freestyle titles last season but expects to be pressed hard by a friend in the backstroke this season.

Not many were ready for the splash El Toro’s John Simmons made last year. Not even Simmons himself.

He went from also-ran to champion at the Southern Section 4-A swim meet in one year. His success continued in the U.S. Swimming Junior Nationals West championships last summer, where he won two backstroke events and set a Junior National West record.

Now at the head of his class, he looks to defend what is his.

“Before, I would look at the people I was swimming against and I couldn’t imagine beating them,” Simmons said. “What I found out last year was I could win. It made me mentally prepared.”

He will have to be this year, at least in the 100-yard backstroke. Simmons, a senior, won the event last year with a time of 50.18. But the field figures to be significantly stronger this time around.

Derya Buyukuncu, his friend and rival, will be his main competition. Buyukuncu, a junior at Woodbridge, was ruled ineligible last season because he didn’t meet residency requirements.

How tough will he be? Well, last summer Buyukuncu honed his skills by competing in the 100-meter backstroke at the Olympics.

The two train together with the Novaquatics, a club team in Irvine.

“We’re pretty good friends, which makes it kind of awkward sometimes,” Simmons said. “We work out together and have become pretty good friends. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. The person you’re racing against is supposed to be the enemy.”

But it’s a little difficult to consider someone a foe when he shows up to cheer you on, as Buyukuncu did last year. He was there in the stands, rooting for Simmons, at the 4-A meet and even came down to congratulate him after the race.

“Just seeing him there was nice,” Simmons said. “I wish we could have raced each other. It would have made things more exciting. This year, we’ll do it.”

Said Novaquatic Coach Dave Salo: “I hope they tie. But as long as they are the top two in Orange County, that will be fine.”

Not many would have given Simmons a chance against Buyukuncu a year ago. But things have changed.

Simmons, who has made an oral commitment to attend SMU, went through a year of evolution in which he made tremendous leaps. He finished fourth in the backstroke at the 4-A meet as a freshman and fell to sixth as a sophomore.

But last year he destroyed the field with a time of 50.18. He also won the 100-yard freestyle in 45.65.

“Last year did wonders for John’s confidence,” El Toro Coach Jeff Grosse said. “I would be hard pressed to say it was predictable. But he deserved it.”

Simmons’ success was rooted in failure. Last spring, he performed poorly and failed to qualify for the senior nationals. He returned disappointed, but determined.

“I think he focused on the Southern Section meet,” Salo said. “He trained very hard for it and discovered he was a much better athlete than he realized. I think he saw it as a stepping stone.”

It was.

From the 4-A meet, Simmons headed to the Junior Nationals West in Pasadena. He won the 100-meter backstroke, then set a record in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:06.49.

It was the first time he had won an event at the junior nationals in four trips. In fact, he had never qualified for the final or consolation final.

“I think he’s now looking at the next level,” Salo said. “I have been telling him there’s no reason he shouldn’t be in the top eight at the 1996 Olympic trials. I think he’s starting to believe that.”

But first will come Buyukuncu. The two will swim against each other in the senior nationals in April. They will then meet again in the section championships.

“Actually, I like my chances of repeating in the freestyle better,” Simmons said. “There’s a lot of competition in the backstroke. It’ll be difficult for me to win.”

Said Salo: “That’s just John. He likes being the underdog. It’s not important for him to be the No. 1 guy until the end.”

And, in the end, that just may be his place.