PREP SWIMMING ROUNDUP : Capistrano Valley Rolls Past Woodbridge

It didn’t bother Capistrano Valley swimmer Jake Yokota a bit that Woodbridge, the Cougars’ opponent in Friday’s dual meet, was missing one of its key performers.

“The fact that ‘He’ was gone lifted our spirits,” Yokota said after the Cougar boys soundly thumped powerhouse Woodbridge, 105-65, in a nonleague meet Friday at Saddleback College.

“He” referred to Woodbridge wonder Derya Buyukuncu, who was off meeting the prime minister of his homeland, Turkey. Without Buyukuncu and Sean Moore, who is competing at Senior Nationals, Capistrano Valley outswam the Warriors all afternoon.

The Cougars realized the handicap but didn’t ease up. Instead, they left the blocks smoking. Several set personal records or posted season bests.

“You guys can give yourselves a hand, you had a great meet,” Capistrano Valley Coach Don Cholodenko told his team after the meet, which the girls won, 96-74. Both Cougar teams improved to 3-1.

Neither school had all its personnel. Capistrano Valley’s boys’ team was intact, but its girls were without Cathy Carone, who is also at nationals. Woodbridge standout Jaimee Lindstrom was out sick and three Warrior girls were gone for other reasons, leaving Woodbridge Coach Dan Gaines wishing this meet had been held any other day.

“Don told a while ago that this wasn’t a good day to have this,” he said. “Not to take anything away from them, but this wasn’t the meet it was intended to be.”

Still, the Cougars intended to accomplish something. Yokota, winner of the 200-yard individual medley (1 minute, 59.44 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (59.13) swam personal records in those races and Dan Batten and Charles Wiersma, members of two winning relays, turned in season bests.

In nonleague boys’ swimming:

El Toro 121.5, Fountain Valley 47.5--Jay Reaves won the 100 butterfly (57.00) and the 200 individual medley (2:00.64) for host El Toro (6-1).

Mission Viejo 99, Irvine 71--After losing in a heartbreaker to El Toro on Thursday, the Diablos came back, winning the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relays.

In nonleague girls’ swimming:

El Toro 95, Fountain Valley 75--Christine Kennedy won the 200 individual medley (2:16.92) and the 500 freestyle (5:15.38) for host El Toro (7-0).

Irvine 89, Mission Viejo 81--Irvine’s Wendy O’Brien was first in the 50 (24.78) and the 100 freestyle (54.11) and was also on the winning 200 freestyle relay. Irvine improves to 5-2, 4-0.