Mission Viejo's Daniec is boys swimmer of the year

It seems fitting that Jon Daniec's best high school race is also the longest.

The Mission Viejo senior has come a long way.

Daniec was born in the south-central Polish town of Zywiec. His family won a lottery for green cards to come to the United States when he was 12.

And after four years of racing for the Diablos, there's no doubt how far Daniec has come in the pool.

The Mission Viejo Nadadores' club product capped his high school career by claiming two CIF Division 1 titles in May, including his second consecutive crown in the 20-lap 500.

For his accomplishments, Daniec is the Register's boys swimmer of the year for 2010.

"It was great," he said of his senior season. "I repeated (in the) 500 free."

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The Nadadores and Mission Viejo High have welcomed some of Poland's top swimmers over the years. Daniec's legacy might be his consistency.

This spring he captured the 500 by almost six seconds with a time of 4 minutes, 22.24 seconds.

Daniec touched just off his winning time in 2009 of 4:22.19, which placed him 10th in county history.

This season, Daniec's 4:22.24 ranks him fifth nationally according to times posted by NISCA (National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association).

"I wanted to get under 4:20 but maybe next year," said Daniec, who signed with Virginia.

While Daniec dominated the 500 free, his other individual race at the Division 1 finals was tight.

In the 200 free, he rallied in the second-half of the race to finish in a tie for first with Capistrano Valley sophomore Logan Redondo. The South Coast League rivals touched in 1:38.29, which places them 12th in county history.

"It was pretty weird to tie," Daniec said. "I didn't see him at all. I was just swimming."

Daniec has been swimming for some time. He also trained in Poland.

One challenging part of his transition to life in the United States was learning the language.

Daniec couldn't speak English when he arrived.

"I kind of knew the grammar but I couldn't talk really," he said. "I watched a lot of TV. That's how I learned, and (in) my classes."

But just like in the 500, Daniec was a quick study.