Prank Drives Spartan Players Out of Pool

Motor oil in Villa Park’s pool has gummed up the girls’ water polo schedule.

Vandals dumped used motor oil into the school’s pool Thursday night, and it ran through the filters, girls’ Athletic Director Sue Gardiner said. The pool will have to be drained, cleaned and refilled, and that will take at least three weeks.

In the meantime, the second-ranked Spartans (19-1) will have to practice at nearby El Modena High and play their remaining regular-season games, which were supposed to be at home, at opponents’ pools.

“El Modena is only about six miles from here,” Gardiner said, “but their team practices after school. So our girls go home, have to come back after [El Modena’s girls] are done. We also used to work out two days a week before school, and now we can’t do that.

“The players are mad. Everybody’s inconvenienced. They’re having to travel to practice, to get there themselves. Rivalries are OK, pranks are OK, but this is something else. We’re hoping we find out who did it.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. is investigating the incident. Earlier this month, vandals ransacked the Sunny Hills High weight room, locker room and cafeteria.

The cost of draining the 320,000 gallons of water, cleaning filters and replacing parts, and refilling the pool (including labor), will be between $5,000 and $7,500, said Judith Frutig, Orange Unified School District director of communications.

“We were hoping to host the first round in the [Southern Section] playoffs,” Gardiner said. That game is scheduled for Feb. 18. There’s a chance the pool will be ready by then, but “that’s optimistic,” she said.

When asked how often the pool is drained, cleaned and refilled, Gardiner said, “Almost never.” The last time, she recalled, was about 10 years ago, when pranksters cut the lock on the double gate and dumped a Volkswagen into the pool.