And so it ends

COSTA MESA — Since the inception of the Orange Coast League in 2007, two track and field teams have won every time in league.

Costa Mesa’s girls and Laguna Beach’s boys are those two dominant programs. Their winning ways in league ended Wednesday.

Each can blame the final event, the girls’ and boys’ 1,600-meter relays for the change. The league’s regular-season finale featured a dramatic finish at Jim Scott Stadium.

The Mustangs lost in the girls’ competition, 69-66. Jessie Goodman helped Laguna Beach rally. She took the lead on the last turn as the Breakers won the relay in 4 minutes, 20 seconds, 2.4 seconds faster than Costa Mesa.

The Breakers are still unbeaten with the boys in league. They tied.

On the relay, Laguna Beach caught the Mustangs on the straightaway, allowing it to tie Costa Mesa, 66-66. Sean Pigden anchored the relay to a 3:34.4 first-place showing.

Costa Mesa finished in 3:34.8, so close to handing the Breakers their first league loss in three seasons.

“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” said Scott Wittkop, one of Laguna Beach’s coaches. “We got a couple of odd breaks.”

With the girls, the Breakers (4-0 in league) received more than breaks, more like freebies before the Orange Coast League preliminaries Monday.

When Costa Mesa Coach Diane Bjelland heard Wittkop’s last comment, she laughed.

“That’s a nice way to put it!” Bjelland said before walking toward the scorer’s table and quickly away from it after learning the final scores.

Bjelland ignored the individual times, the individual marks. This one was over. She knew it was.

Costa Mesa’s winning streak with the girls in the Orange Coast League was done at nine. Bjelland said the streak in league was at 14, if you include the Mustangs’ time in the Golden West League in 2006.

The Mustangs (3-1 in league) entered the meet in a tough spot and worsened it with a couple of alarming decisions.

Costa Mesa was already without sprinter Teagan LaBare. Bjelland said the senior strained her right hamstring in the 100 event at the Orange County Championships Saturday.

Costa Mesa on Wednesday lost LaBare in four events, the 100 and 200 and both relays. The Mustangs failed to win each race, finishing runner-up in three of them.

One event Costa Mesa failed to place in or race in was the 400. In a meet in which both coaches said would come down to the wire, losing out on any points hurt the Mustangs.

“We should have gotten at least [something],” Bjelland said. “There’s a three- to five-point swing not having any [runners]. It was a miscommunication with the [official in the] red coat.

“I’m surprised it was so close at the end when [we had] the fiasco with the 400. Whether it was our girls’ fault, or the [official in the] red coat not getting them out on the track, [also] Hunter [Strodel] dropping out of the 3,200, [probably] would’ve swung it the other way.”

A healthy Strodel might have put the Mustangs on top. She bowed out in the final 200 meters of the 3,200, an event Laguna Beach earned first and third in. Earlier in the meet, Strodel won the 1,600 in 5:34.5.

Another athlete keeping the score close was Kaitlin Yamamoto. She placed first in the pole vault, recording a Costa Mesa record in the event with an 8-foot, 9-inch effort.

“If we win next week [at league finals], we still can win [our fourth straight] league [title], but this is just a heartbreaker,” said Bjelland, who received winning performances from Seu Ieremia in the discus throw (120-11 1/2 ) and shot put (33-5), Tatiana Williams in the long jump (15-11) and triple jump (34-1), Shelby Herbel in the 100 hurdles (17.7) and Rachel Daley in the high jump (4-10). “I know the kids wanted it so bad.”

The boys tried their best to be the first team in league to knock off Laguna Beach (3-0-1 in league) in three years.

Duke Yasuda won the 110 hurdles (16.9) and 300 hurdles (44.2) for the Mustangs. James Stucker finished first in the 3,200 (10:39.4) and pole vault (8-0), while Thomas Guzowski took first in the shot put (44-1 1/2 ).

Antwon Byrd almost led Costa Mesa (3-0-1 in league) to the victory by himself. The senior competed in four events, winning the 100 (11.1) and 200 (22.8), and he ran the second leg on the 4x100 victorious relay team (45.2).

In the 1,600 relay, Byrd moved up a spot. Costa Mesa featured the same runners from the first successful relay, except Drake Brunett ran the first leg instead of John Galvin.

On the final exchange Manny Gomez led and continued to do so until Pigden surprised the senior. Down the straightaway, Pigden made his move, knowing he needed to win the race.

“It means everything,” said Pigden because he figured if the Breakers couldn’t win, they at least stayed unbeaten in league with a tie.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].