Mission Viejo Swim Coach Gets Milestone

On a night when Southern California’s fastest high school swimmers met for the final time in 1999, it was longevity, not speed, that made the biggest dent in the CIF record book.

Mission Viejo boys’ Coach Mike Pelton, whose team win its sixth consecutive CIF Southern Section Division I title Friday night at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach, broke the record for the most section titles by any coach in any sport with his 21st.

He had shared the record with Bakersfield football Coach Dwight Griffin, who won 20 from 1914-45.

Mission Viejo scored 370.5 points, 52 points ahead of second-place Irvine.

Irvine did win the girls’ crown, however, with 393 points. Led by Olympian Amanda Beard, Irvine won its third consecutive Division I crown. San Clemente, whose 400-yard freestyle relay team set a CIF Division I record with a time of 3 minutes 28.46 seconds, finished a distant second with 204.

Beard, swimming in her final high school race, won the 100 breaststroke for the fourth consecutive time in 1:02.77, a second off her CIF record set as a freshman. Beard took home the girls’ swimmer of the meet honors as well.

Boys’ swimmer of the meet was Mission Viejo’s Allen Ong for the second year in a row. Ong won the 50 and 100 freestyle, a feat he also accomplished a year ago.