Southern Section 4-A Swimming Championships : Foothill Ends Mission Viejo’s Reign : 400-Yard Freestyle Relay Makes Difference in Boys’ Final

After more than a decade of dominance, Mission Viejo High School wasn’t about to go down easy in the Southern Section 4-A boys’ swim championships.

But down the Diablos went.

The team championship was decided by the 400-yard freestyle relay, the final event Friday at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. And Foothill won the race in convincing fashion.

Foothill won in 3 minutes 6.88 seconds with Mission Viejo second at 3:10.32. The victory gave the Knights 147 points to end Mission Viejo’s 14-year reign as 4-A champions.

Mission Viejo was second with 115.

Capistrano Valley won its third consecutive girls’ title with 166 points. Mission Viejo was second with 156.

In fact, the last team to win a 4-A boys’ title other than Mission Viejo was Foothill, in 1974.

“It’s been a long time since someone has had a chance at this other than Mission Viejo,” Foothill Coach Tom DeLong said. “I’d forgotten what those competitive juices felt like.”

The juices were flowing for the Foothill’s relay team. The Knights went into the race knowing that all they had to do was finish ahead of the Diablos to win the title.

The two teams were even through the first two legs of the race, but Andy Musch gave the Knights a 25-yard advantage with 100 yards to go. Brian Cowdell maintained that lead, as he held off Mission Viejo’s Tsukasa Kawabuchi down the stretch.

Kawabuchi had earlier swam a 46.56 to nose out Cowdell in the 100 freestyle. Kawabuchi also won the 50 freestyle (21.19.

But in the relay, the Knights had more horses.

“Let’s put it this way, I’d rather have our relay team then theirs,” DeLong said. “We have as good a relay team as anybody around.”

The Knights proved it, as they won both the 400 freestyle and 400 individual medley relays.

“The kids are lucky, they can let their emotions out by swimming hard,” DeLong said. “Coaches like me have to stand here on edge.”

It was close throughout the evening, as Foothill never had a commanding lead. The Knights won only one individual race as Ron Scott the 100 butterfly (50.30).

But the Knights’ overall depth and the fact they won both relays (worth 64 points) carried them to victory.

“I think by the end, there were a lot of people cheering for us,” DeLong said. “I think everybody wanted to see someone else win the title.”

In the girls’ competition, Amy Shaw was the driving force for Capistrano Valley.

It was a triumphant return for Shaw, who last year was ruled ineligible to compete because she had violated Southern Section rules by competing in an international meet without seeking permission.

At the time, Shaw was considered one of the top breaststroke swimmers in the world. In fact, she still holds the American record in the breaststroke.

But a rash of injuries forced her to miss the Olympics. She is still recuperating from those injuries and hasn’t competed in the breaststroke since last summer.

Shaw has turned into a strong freestyle swimmer.

She won the 200 freestyle (1:47.91) and 500 freestyle (4:46.45).

In the 200, she swam neck-and-neck with Kathy Diebler of Mission Viejo through the first 100. Shaw took a slight lead and held off Diebler over the final 25 yards.

In the 500 freestyle, Shaw faced no challenges. She took the lead early and finished more than four seconds ahead of Joyce Lightfoot of Sunny Hills.

The Cougars also received a strong performance from sprint swimmer Christy Carolin, who won the 50 freestyle (23.94). She also finished second in the 100 freestyle (52.26), behind Diebler who swam a 50.69.

Mission Viejo, which won 11 consecutive girls’ titles from 1976-86, finished second for the third straight year. The Diablos got strong performance from Diebler and Suzi Burt, who won the 100 backstroke (57.55).

The Diablos also set the only Southern Section record during the meet, as their 400 freestyle relay time finished in 3:28.56. Mission Viejo had set the record of 3:28.91 in 1981.

Besides Shaw, Betsi Hugh of Marina was the only double winner in the girls’ competition.

Hugh won the 200 individual medley (2:05.30) and 100 butterfly (56.90). It was the second consecutive year she has won the individual medley.