Rankings and polls are everywhere, but what happens when you throw them all together and pick . . . : The All-Time Top 10

It is hard to define what makes one team greater or better than another, especially when they span different eras. But sometimes teams come along that are regarded so highly, stories about them are handed down from one generation to the next about the team that couldn’t be beaten.

Or, in a rare case, the team that could.

With that in mind, The Times Orange County set about trying to find the greatest teams in local history, taking into account record, impact and competition.

1: 1983 Mission Viejo Boys’ Swimming

This program has been named national champion 10 times by Swimming World magazine, and there are several Olympians in its record books. But the strongest team of all time won because of its depth, not because it relied on a few individuals.

To prove the point, the 1983 Diablo team scored a 565-343 victory over the 1985 team (which had four Olympic swimmers and won its Southern Section meet by a record 224 points) in a mock dual meet that compared top times.

“This team was so deep, it destroyed people,” Mission Viejo Coach Mike Pelton said. “[The others] didn’t have the full complement of support athletes that made the ’83 team stick out among all of them.”

This team had 14 All-Americans, including Sean Dailey, Todd Hickman, Todd Sturgeon, Art Murphy, Gustavo and Mario Fernandez, Vic Riggs, Todd Rodgers and Guilio Sartorio.

They enjoyed perhaps their finest moment early in the season, when they competed in a dual meet against national private-school power Mercersburg Academy of Pennsylvania. Mercersburg was coming off its season while the Diablos were just beginning theirs.

As the meet wound down, Powell Hamilton, a backstroker and individual medley swimmer, needed to finish third or better in the 100 breaststroke for Mission Viejo to have a chance to win. Hamilton finished in 1 minute 1 second and took third.

That set the stage for the last event, the 1983 team’s specialty, with the 400 freestyle relay of Tim Hourigan, Kris Wiest, Matt McCluskey and David Louden. Louden’s 45.3 anchor provided the upset, 61-55.

That relay team went on to swim 3:03.34 seconds in the section finals, a record that still stands. It’s the only ’83 entry atop the school’s record board.

“That team had tremendous focus and tremendous desire to win,” Pelton said. “They went the extra mileage in practice and in the weight room, and their work ethic was unbelievable.”

And they won as a result of it.

2: 1981 University Girls’ Cross-Country

Cross-country meets went to three-mile courses in 1981, and it only proved an aid to University’s deep corps of runners. The Trojans won the section 4-A title with only 41 points, and Harrier Magazine named them No. 1 in the nation.

How good were they? They ran a team time (1:32.25 for five runners) in the section prelims on the Mt. San Antonio College course that is still the best by a girls’ team. A week later, they ran 1:32.28, which, according to then-coach Bob Messina, was accomplished despite two runners performing poorly during the section finals.

“We should have had seven of the top 15 or 18,” Messina said, noting his team should have run about 30 seconds faster.

Senior Polly Plumer (UCLA) and sophomore Teresa Barrios (Arizona State) were as formidable as any tandem in prep history; Plumer won the section final in 17:27 and Barrios was third. Plumer set a national high school mark in the 1,500 meters in track and briefly held the record in the mile; she was a three-time state champion in the mile, and Barrios was fourth in the two mile. Both were Olympic qualifiers in track and field as post-collegians.

Junior Judy McLaughlin (UC Irvine) ran in the NCAA finals in cross-country and track, giving the Trojans three national-caliber distance runners.

The team was rounded out by Laura Sauerwein (Saddleback) and juniors Jami Nourse (California, soccer scholarship), Susan Armentrout (UC Santa Barbara) and Melissa Partin (UC Santa Barbara). In all, University had 11 girls who could finish the three-mile Mt. SAC course in under 20 minutes. Julie Seleine, a junior that year and later a track runner at Arizona State and USC, was a top 10 section runner in 1982; she struggled to make University’s top 12 in 1981.

“We had two girls as good as anybody’s top girl,” Messina said, “and probably seven as good as anybody else’s second or third girl.”

3: 1979 Newport Harbor Girls’ Volleyball

It was suggested in 1977 to Charlie Brande, then coach of the Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball team, that his team play the girls in a school fund-raiser. Brande, who had five Division I players, including USC All-American Billy Yardley, agreed to the match.

“I said, ‘This is going to be a joke,’ ” Brande recalled.

He was right. The girls beat the boys in 30 minutes, 15-2, 15-3.

That was when Kari Rush and Co. were sophomores. Two years later, in 1979, they were well on their way to improving the play of girls’ volleyball countrywide.

Rush, a 5-8 setter who eventually led Stanford to three Final Fours, was the undersized Sailors’ tallest player. She and twins Kris and Kori Pulaski (both Hawaii), middle blocker Julie Cochran (Princeton) and Louise Burbank (Cal Poly Pomona) played with such execution they were pushed to a third game (in best of three matches back then) only once, in the section finals, while finishing undefeated.

“The game came to the forefront in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 because of the Japanese,” said Brande, who became the girls’ coach in 1979 and now coaches UC Irvine. “This was the first high school team in the U.S. that mastered the Asian style of volleyball. It put them head and shoulders above everyone else, despite being head and shoulders smaller than everyone else.”

The offense ran quick short sets and low-trajectory shoot sets, and their quickness was unmatched--before or since.

“Like the run-and-shoot in football, they were doing things no one else was doing,” Brande said. “Everyone tried to emulate them and that improved the precision, the ball control, of high school volleyball.”

4: 1975 Newport Harbor Water Polo

In the mid-1970s, water polo was played in the fall and swimming was a winter sport, which left spring and summer for players to train together. The Sailors practiced twice a day year-round and often worked out against college and national team players. It was there, playing against the best, that the Sailors became the best, going 23-0 in 1975.

They performed well in all facets of the game--great counterattack and extra man, very good front-court offense. Because they worked out against the best in the off-season, they learned to play great defense.

Player George Newland said he thought one factor in the team’s development came when, during Newland’s sophomore season, Coach Bill Barnett kicked several players off the team, providing an opportunity for Newland and the remaining younger players to grow together through their senior year.

Newland’s father Ted, longtime coach at UC Irvine but also coach of the dominant 1965 Corona del Mar team, watched his son’s team with interest.

“They played at a whole different level than they play now,” Ted Newland said. “They’d kick the crap out of any high school team today, going away.

“They were a cut above everybody else.”

John “Spanky” Dobrott (UC Santa Barbara), Frank Anderson (Stanford), Greg Fultz (USC), George Newland (UC Irvine) and future Olympian Kevin Robertson (California) all started as freshmen in college. Randy Parole (USC) was the goalkeeper, Mitch White the other starter, and Ted McGinley came off the bench and later played at USC on his way to an acting career.

“It was physically and mentally demanding,” Dobrott said, “but we were all proud to do it.”

5: 1985 Mater Dei Boys’ Basketball

This is the most legendary of all Mater Dei teams. The Monarchs had won a section championship in 1983, lost in the semifinals in 1984, but went 29-0 in 1985 to win another section title. They might have added a state championship, but Southern Section principals voted not to participate in the state tournament that year.

Without the opportunity, people were left to wonder, “What if?”

The answers look good on paper. The Monarchs’ average margin of victory in the playoffs was 28 points. They beat Compton by 38 points at Compton.

Tom Lewis, a 6-7 shooting guard, was one of the top scorers in section history. Point guard Tom Peabody was 6-5 and played at Loyola Marymount with Hank Gathers. Mike Kelly, a 6-6 small forward, played professionally in Australia and New Zealand. Mike Mitchell, a 6-6 power forward, was the Western Athletic Conference player of the year for Colorado State. Stuart Thomas was a 6-9 center who went to Stanford.

“They were very focused and blended well together,” Coach Gary McKnight said. “All played their roles and played real well together. They bought into what we were teaching, then took it and ran with it.

“We had extreme size and athleticism. That year was the first year we let everybody be a part of it--the first couple of years, we were too conservative and wanted to get the ball to certain players.

“That was the year that Mater Dei basketball really took off.”

6: 1997 Calvary Chapel Wrestling

Only one county team other than Calvary Chapel has ever won a state wrestling title, and last year’s Eagle team set state finals records for points (136.5) and margin of victory (62.5).

Burt Pierson (130 pounds) joined two-time state champions Joe Calavitta (140) and Ty Wilcox (160) as they matched a state record by giving the Eagles three finalists from one school.

The Eagles sent nine wrestlers to the state meet, and a state-record seven placed, including Tino Archuleta (fifth, 125 pounds), Jay McGuffin (fifth, 135), Louie Hernandez (fifth, 145) and Josh Saul (eighth, 215).

The Eagles, coached by John Azevedo, set a Division I record by scoring 293 1/2 points in the section meet. They were ranked fourth nationally.

Calvary Chapel finished fifth in the Ironman tournament in Ohio, but that was after beating the nation’s two-time defending national champion, Walsh (Ohio) Jesuit, in its home gym in a dual meet the night before.

Eagle wrestlers won 10 tournaments, including the prestigious Five Counties Invitational, which Calvary Chapel won by more than 50 points despite competing without its two best wrestlers, and the section dual meet championship. .

7: 1994 Brea Olinda Girls’ Basketball

Though Mark Trakh, who laid the foundation for what Brea’s program is today--a six-time state champion--said the 1990 team had more sheer talent, he called the 1994 team coached by John Hattrup the best.

It’s something Trakh has given a lot of thought to since becoming head coach at Pepperdine.

“You have to judge it by the last game that team played,” Trakh said, referring to the ’90 team’s loss in the state final to Auburn Placer and the ’94 team’s 54-44 victory over San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

Point guard Nicole Erickson, now a standout at Duke, was the consummate floor leader, never crossed by her teammates or doubted when a clutch shot was needed. She was one of the section’s top five three-point shooters and is the state’s all-time assist leader.

The Ladycats’ 33-0 record extended their winning streak to 54 games. Sarah Beckley (5-11), Colleen Hudson (6-2) and junior Kiyoko Miller (5-9, USC) were tough, hard-nosed players who sparkled defensively. Erickson and Miller were three-point shooters and penetrators; Moulin was a three-point specialist, and Hudson a formidible inside presence with her back to the basket.

Brea defeated four state playoff opponents in Division III by an average of 30.8 points and won its fourth consecutive state title. The Ladycats’ average margin of victory on the season was 37.3 points (excluding the 74.5 average over Orange League opponents); they had only six games decided by less than 28 points (the closest being nine).

Brea defeated three teams ranked nationally and, in the last poll of the season, were moved to No. 1.

8: 1995 Marina Girls’ Soccer

The disparity in eras, one coach said, made it really hard to determine what team might be better. However, the development of girls’ soccer by the mid-1990s created a good argument for the 1995 Marina team, which extended its unbeaten streak to 61 games with a 21-0-1 record and won its third consecutive section title. It outscored opponents, 90-9, and never allowed more than one goal in a game.

The Vikings were ranked fifth nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Assn., of America, and for good reason: They had seven senior starters (who went 27-0-1 as juniors), five of whom went on to Division I college programs. Marcy Crouch (two-time section defensive player of the year), Kristen Palmer (Northwestern, Times All-County player of the year), Cassie Campbell (UCLA), Shannon Cuthbertson (San Diego State), goalkeeper Jennifer Simmons (Denver), junior Jenny Benson (Nebraska, under-20 national team) and sophomore Megan Orach (USC) were the central figures in the Vikings’ success. Crouch is at Stanford playing softball.

The only tie of the season came against Esperanza, a game in which Palmer wasn’t allowed by referees to play because of her knee brace.

In the section Division I title game, Marina ended Claremont’s 27-game unbeaten streak, 2-0, rarely letting the Wolfpack near the goal; Marina outshot Claremont, 16-4.

When Marina opened Sunset League play against second-ranked Los Alamitos, the Vikings won in a runaway, 6-0, and outshot the Griffins, 16-1. The Griffins’ only shot was a weak header midway through the second half.

“The 1995 team had to carry the burden of the unbeaten streak, and they did a great job with that,” said Marina’s coach at the time, Bobby Bruch. “That team had a storybook existence.”

9: 1982 Laguna Beach Boys’ Volleyball

The Artists’ volleyball team was, in its day, considered tall, with 6-foot George Carey--the best jumper on the team--its shortest player.

They didn’t lose a match, and the lineup reads like a Who’s Who of volleyball.

Setter Rudy Dvorak (USC), the section’s player of the year in a one-division sport, was one of three seniors who made up the nucleus. Chris Larson (UC Santa Barbara) and Neil Ridell (UCLA) started at middle blocker, and juniors Steve Blue (Stanford) and Scott Fortune (Stanford) rotated in. Fortune--who did not start, mind you--was a two-time Olympian and team captain.

Leif Hanson (Hawaii) and junior Adam Johnson (USC) were outside hitters, and George Carey was the opposite hitter.

Dvorak and Johnson were All-Americans. Hanson went on to become a top 20 beach player, and Johnson became King of the Beach champion.

“When you had players like that, it was like having a 12-man roster; my toughest decision was which six to play,” then-coach Bill Ashen said. “I wasn’t subbing guys out of the back row because they were 6-foot-3. If they weren’t blocking you, they were digging you and turning it into points.”

Laguna Beach ran the 5-1 offense (five hitters and one setter) at a time when the predominant offense was four hitters and two setters. Building on the unbeaten season from a year earlier (behind setter Lance Stewart), Dvorak’s team exposed so many people to the offense that it ushered in the universal use of the 5-1 offense.

And, as evidenced by what Dvorak and Co. did after high school, this team had too many weapons for opponents to try to match up.

“We didn’t rely on height,” Ashen said. “We relied on quickness and precision, and you couldn’t rely on stopping one guy--they had to stop the whole team.”

10: 1979 Edison Football

Five players who started for Edison in its Big Five Conference championship game victory played in the NFL, and two others played professionally in arena football. Thirty-one players on that Charger team played Division I college football.

Running back Kerwin Bell (Kansas) averaged only 13 carries per game but gained 2,226 yards and scored 30 touchdowns, usually skipping the second half. Quarterback Frank Seurer (Kansas) passed for 2,063 yards and 23 touchdowns. Tight end Mark Boyer (USC), who played eight years in the NFL, completed the triple threat with 49 catches.

Bell, Seurer, Boyer and fullback Mark Churchwood are considered the finest backfield in county history.

“People didn’t know where to line up against us,” said Edison’s coach at the time, Bill Workman.

Bill Malavasi (Kansas) and Churchwood anchored a defense that allowed only 8.6 points.

“As I remember, I was really unhappy [after losing to Newport Harbor, 17-13],” Workman recalled of the season’s turning point, the team’s second loss in its first six games. “There was a quote in the paper, ‘We will not lose again.’ I must have been pretty mad because that was pretty brash. I knew what the potential was. Football isn’t always the material, but how the material fits together and what the mentality is.”

After the loss to Newport Harbor, during which Edison had four turnovers inside the 20, players realized they were frittering away their potential. They got serious about football.

They outscored opponents by an average of 33-6 the rest of the way. The Chargers defeated unbeaten Fontana in the semifinals, 34-14, setting the stage for a showdown against Redlands.

Redlands was unbeaten and had allowed only 13 points all season--seven the result of losing a fumble at the one-yard line after which the opponent needed four downs to score.

Edison won, 55-0.

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Others to Consider

What teams did we miss? Where did we mess up? If you’d like to voice your opinion on the all-time top 10, write to 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626, or fax to (714) 966-5663. Here are some other strong teams to jog your memory.

* 1956 Anaheim football: With legendary coach Clare Van Hoorebeke and running back Mickey Flynn, the Colonists tied Downey for section title before 41,383 at Coliseum.

* 1966 Westminster boys’ cross-country: Won section title with 31 points; had five runners under 10 minutes for two miles; redefined way teams trained.

* 1978 Servite baseball: Had seven Division I scholarship winners, and featured pitcher Mike Witt and infielder Steve Buechele.

* 1979 Marina softball: Lost once early, but went undefeated rest of way with three future ASA All-Americans.

* 1981 Santa Ana boys’ soccer: Undefeated until section finals, set an elegant standard for other teams.

* 1985 Ocean View softball: Undefeated champion, pitcher Sarah Oakley won record 32 games with 28 shutouts.

* 1985 Mission Viejo boys’ swimming: Had four future Olympians and won section title by largest margin of victory ever.

* 1987 Newport Harbor boys’ volleyball: Featured Hugh Foster, perhaps the most dominant male player in county history.

* 1988 Mission Viejo girls’ soccer: Olympian Julie Foudy’s third section championship team, went 26-0-2 as part of 84-game unbeaten streak.

* 1990 Brea Olinda girls’ basketball: Five Division I players forged 55-game winning streak, but Ladycats lost in the state finals.

* 1994 Mater Dei football: On their way to an undefeated season, the Monarchs ended Los Alamitos’ 47-game winning streak before 30,065 at Anaheim Stadium.