SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ SWIMMING RELAYS : El Toro Makes Most of Its Extra Chance

LONG BEACH —  A bit of luck was all that separated El Toro and Mission Viejo high schools Saturday night in the girls’ Southern Section swim relays at Belmont Plaza Pool.

The Chargers made no mistakes, from the prelims to the finals, to finish 18 points ahead of Mission Viejo, 236-218. It was El Toro’s second consecutive victory in the meet.

But the Diablos’ fate was sealed Tuesday in the prelims when they were disqualified in 200 backstroke relay after a swimmer left the blocks early.

Mission Viejo would have been seeded second in the event but instead swam in only six relays while El Toro competed in seven. The one race was the difference.

“If that hadn’t have happened, then Mission Viejo wins,” El Toro Coach Sheri Ross said. “There’s no doubt about that. Our girls swam very, very well, but the difference was the one race.”

Ross knows that disadvantage well; the Chargers swam in one fewer relay a year ago, but they were able to overcome that handicap to win.

Mission Viejo was unable to pull of the same upset but came very close. The Diablos won two of the first three events and were ahead of the Chargers through the first four races.

In the fifth race, the backstroke, the Chargers finished only fourth, but the 30 points they received gave them an insurmountable lead.

“I could barely bring myself to watch the backstroke,” Mission Viejo Coach Jan Most said.

It was El Toro-Mission Viejo affair from the start; they finished 1-2 in the first three races.

In the first event, El Toro’s Alyson Roney held off Mission Viejo’s Barbara Franco in the 400 individual medley.

In the second race, Claudio Franco overcame a two-second deficit to give the Diablos a victory in the six-leg, 300 freestyle. Franco swam the final 50 yards in 23.2 seconds to overtake Robin Lowes of El Toro.

The Chargers also won the 200 breaststroke. The Diablos won the 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle.

“It’s always exciting any time we swim against Mission Viejo,” Ross said. “Our girls get really fired up for it.”

The two teams will become quite familiar with each other in the next four weeks. They meet in a dual meet Tuesday and again in the South Coast League finals the following week.

They are also considered the favorites to win the Southern Section 4-A meet on May 10. Mission Viejo is the defending champion. El Toro finished third last year.

“The next few weeks should be a lot of fun,” Most said. “We like swimming against El Toro.”

The most exciting race Saturday didn’t involve either school. In the 200 medley, Fountain Valley held off Brea-Olinda by .01 of a second, 1:52.99 to 1:53.00.

Foothill finished third in the meet, Fountain Valley fourth and Brea-Olinda fifth.