SOUTHERN SECTION SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS : San Marino Targets O.C. Dominance

Burt Kanner remembers the last time he took a San Marino High School swim team to the Southern Section 4-A finals. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

In 1980, San Marino was considered one of the top teams in the meet. However, Kanner knew that the Titans had no chance of winning the title.

“Back then, the 4-A meet belonged to Mission Viejo,” said Kanner, who will retire this season after 35 years of coaching. “It was a blowout every year.”

Mission Viejo, fueled by world-class swimmers from the Mission Viejo Nadadores club team, won 14 consecutive 4-A titles from 1975-88.

Tonight, Kanner and the Titans return to the 4-A finals after spending the past 10 years on the 3-A level. This time, their chances are much better.

The Titans are the favorite to win the meet, which begins at 7 p.m. at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach. If they live up to the predictions, it will be the first non-Orange County team to win the 4-A title since Buena in 1969.

“A lot of that was because of the Mission Viejo dynasty,” Kanner said. “They were getting top swimmers from around the country and all over the world. They were all being funneled into Mission Viejo High School. Now that talent is more spread out to other schools in the area.”

Of course, San Marino has done its share of dominating on the 3-A level. The Titans have won seven titles, including the past three, necessitating their move back to 4-A.

Southern Section rules call for a team to move up a division if it wins three consecutive titles.

“It’s not like San Marino is coming out of nowhere,” Capistrano Valley Coach Don Cholodenko said. “Burt’s had an outstanding program for more than 30 years.”

The Titans, who finished second in the 4-A in 1979 and third in 1980, are loaded with talented swimmers, including Daizo Mitsouka and Dan Kanner.

Mitsouka, a transfer from Damien, won the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 backstroke last season. Kanner, the coach’s son, won the 200 and 500 freestyles last year.

Add Mike Mason (200 IM and 100 breaststroke), Alex Kim (200 IM), Tim Johnson (100 backstroke) and John Purdy (50 freestyle) and it’s easy to see why the Titans are heavily favored.

“If they swim as they are capable, I see San Marino walking away with the meet this year,” Cholodenko said.

Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley are expected to challenge the Titans.

Capistrano Valley, the defending 4-A champion, is led by Kevin Eggert (200 freestyle and 100 IM), Nick Kitredge (50 and 100 freestyle) and John Parise (200 and 500 freestyle). Eggert, defending champion in the 200 IM, has recovered from a fractured bone in his wrist that slowed him this season.

Mission Viejo, which finished second the last two seasons, is led by Eric Diehl (200 and 500 freestyle), Matt Turnbull (100 backstroke) and Laguna Hills transfer Shogo Yoko (200 IM and 100 breaststroke). Diehl is the defending champion in the 200 and 500 freestyles and will be competing against Kanner in the 200 freestyle.

“It’s going to take a Southern Section record to win that race, maybe a national (high school) record,” Mission Viejo Coach Mike Pelton said.

Another race that could produce a record is the 100 backstroke, which features three defending Southern Section champions. In addition to Mitsouka, the race will feature Tom Westcott of Huntington Beach and Jason Stelle of Agoura.

Westcott has won the 4-A race the past two years and Stelle is the two-time defending 2-A champion. Also in the field is freshman Nathan Resch of Dos Pueblos, who was seeded third in the event going into the preliminaries.

In the girls’ 4-A meet, defending champion Mission Viejo is favored over El Toro. The Diablos have a core of seven swimmers back from last season.

Among them is Shona Baille, defending champion in the 100 butterfly.

The other defending champions who are returning are Michelle Ham of Fountain Valley and Laura Ellison of Foothill. Ham has won the 100 breaststroke the past two seasons and the 200 IM a year ago. Ellison won the 100 backstroke last season.