Costa Mesa athletes enjoy All-Sports Cup lunch, the spoils of victory in crosstown rivalry

Students who might otherwise avoid lunch lines were happy to wait their turn Wednesday at Costa Mesa High, as the annual All-Sports Cup luncheon arrived on campus.

What has become tradition over the course of more than a decade with a catered lunch from Newport Rib Co. has added incentive to the crosstown rivalry, known to those who have played in it as the Battle for the Bell.

Costa Mesa boasted a 115-75 margin of victory over Estancia in the overall competition, claiming wins in 15 of the 23 team sports contested between the schools.

The Mustangs made big gains in sweeping the home-and-home sets for boys’ and girls’ volleyball, girls’ soccer, softball and boys’ tennis. In addition, Costa Mesa emerged victorious for both genders in cross-country, track and field and swimming.

Itzel Ramirez, left, a girls’ soccer player, and Ethan Smithlin, a boys’ soccer and football player, prepare to eat lunch during the All-Sports Cup luncheon at Costa Mesa High.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Highlighting that group was the boys’ swimming team, which won the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship.

“I think ... for all sports, it’s a huge thing, beating Estancia [and] being the better school in sports,” Natasha Ruiz, a senior middle blocker for the girls’ volleyball team, said of the rivalry. “It was fun, especially since we had a good game against them, too. It made it a lot more fun.”

Ruiz was referring to a 25-20, 26-28, 25-17, 18-25, 15-10 marathon win at home to cap a sweep of the Eagles in the fall.

After recounting her experience on the court, Ruiz returned with a plate full of ribs, baked beans, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. She took her first bite in front of Newport Rib Co. owner John Ursini, giving it her verbal approval.

Varsity athletes line up to get lunch during the All-Sports Cup luncheon at Costa Mesa High on Wednesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Ursini donned a Costa Mesa basketball jersey for the event, one he said had been in his possession since the day after the Mustangs rang the Bell with a 48-47 win on the Eagles’ home court on Jan. 18.

“They won the Battle for the Bell in basketball, and then they got the Rib Co. [meal],” Ursini said. “Five of them came back to the Rib Co. the next day and brought me this jersey as a thank you, and a nice thank you card. … It was a classy move. I don’t know who set it up, but it was one of those. I’ve had it on the back of my chair for the last three months, and this morning I said, ‘I’m going to wear it.’ I’ve got my Rib Co. shirt on, was wearing green, but I said, ‘We’ll give Costa Mesa their due.’”

Sharon Uhl and Chris Anderson, the athletic directors for Costa Mesa and Estancia, respectively, both said Wednesday that the schools will be moving out of the Orange Coast League after next season.

Anderson, who said a releaguing proposal was approved by Orange County principals on Monday, added that the schools would be placed in different leagues, though he said Estancia would intend to continue competing in the crosstown rivalry in all sports through nonleague contests.

“I hope so,” Ursini said of the potential for the rivalry to continue in nonleague play. “I really do. This has been since [the 2009-10 school year], so it’s 14 years going strong, and it’s catching. All the kids know it now.”

The All-Sports Cup stayed with Estancia through the first nine years of its existence, but since crossing town to Costa Mesa for the first time in 2019, it has remained with the Mustangs.

Sophia Yurada, a senior defender on the girls’ soccer team, enjoyed the meal in the bleachers with teammates Ashley Vargo, Alexys Lopez and Ana Baltazar, among others.

“We’ve been on the team for four years, so it feels nice that every single time we’ve won, we’ve been involved in it,” Yurada said. “Since I’ve been on varsity for four years, I guess I really have been able to be a part of it every single year. It kind of makes me feel like I did end up making a difference for the program, as a whole. All of us seniors, and even juniors, anybody who joined, we were able to keep that streak going and encourage each other and grow as a program, even when the different generations of students and soccer players come through.”