The shouts of “Atta baby!” and “Let’s go Lady Titans!” from coaches pierced the pool deck with more energy.
The cheering from swimmers and spectators featured added elements like a sign and a stadium horn.
And the Tesoro girls and Capistrano Valley boys followed suit Tuesday by going above-and-beyond to impress in the South Coast League.
Tuesday’s O.C. Register leaderboard
In one of South County’s most anticipated dual meets, Tesoro’s No. 6 girls defeated the three-time defending league champion and No. 8 Cougars, 107-63, at Capistrano Valley.
The Cougars’ No. 6 boys handled No. 10 Tesoro, 108-62, in a major move toward a seventh consecutive league crown.
“We’re kind of stepping up in the South Coast League, letting them know that Tesoro is here and here to stay,” Titans girls coach Todd Conrad said.
Tesoro’s girls (4-1, 3-0) used front-end speed and plenty of depth to off-set Capistrano Valley’s double-winners Brooke Lorentzen and Megan Leckich.
The Minnesota-bound Lorentzen nearly matched her season-best in the 500-yard freestyle by winning in 4 minutes, 53.75 seconds in arguably the performance of the meet. But in a telling display of depth, Tesoro placed Mandy Barnes (5:06.09), Casey Brotherton (5:06.99) and freshman Rhys Empey (5:08.37) second-third-fourth behind Lorentzen to take the event, 9-7.
The Titans also placed second-third-fourth in the 50 and 100 freestyles behind the Concordia-bound Leckich, who touched first in 25.09 and 54.13.
Add the front-end speed, and Tesoro had a dominating combination.
“They’re deep and strong,” Capistrano Valley girls coach Pat Higginson said of Tesoro.
Dominique Gray, one of Tesoro’s “Fab Five” freshmen, helped highlight the meet by taking the 100 breaststroke in a school-record 1:07.87.
Gray also led a first-second finish in the 200 individual medley (2:08.45) with fellow freshman Victoria Epps (2:10.13).
Tesoro’s also got a victory from freshman Jami Hwang in the backstroke with a 1:00.75.
The Titans’ future looks even brighter when one considers the anticipated arrival next season of Epps’ sister, Jessica, a rising standout with the Mission Viejo Nadadores.
“It’s going to be a powerhouse right there,” Lorentzen said of Tesoro. “Definitely watch out for Tesoro.”
Barnes won the butterfly in a season-best 57.74 and teamed with Brotherton, Suzanna Gonzalez and Gray to claim the 400 free relay in 3:39.08.
“I think everyone was really pumped, ready to go,” Barnes said. “I like having it at Capo, too, because it’s bigger and gives everyone a lot more space to go crazy. It was definitely a good meet.”
Capistrano Valley’s boys (2-0, 2-0) showed their depth by sweeping the top-three places in the 200 and 500 freestyles, including Nick Norman’s 1:42.30 in the 200.
The Cougars also received strong sprint victories from Rafael Felix (21.42 in the 50 free) and Matthew Chalcarz (47.51 in the 100 free). Felix’s lifetime-best ranks second in the county while Chalcarz also won the 200 IM in 1:57.49.
The defending Division 1 champion Cougars also received a strong performance from Christian Lee in the butterfly. The junior won in 51.88, just off the automatic Division 1 qualifying time.
Capistrano Valley’s 200 free relay sizzled to a season-best time. Felix, Austin Sechrest, Norman and Chalcarz combined for a 1:27.77. The Cougars also grabbed second in the 200 free relay and won the point-battle in nine of the 11 events overall.
“It was more intense than the other meets,” Felix said. “There were a lot of fast guys on the other team. … Today was a big day.’
In other meets Tuesday:
In Trinity League girls:
No. 1 Santa Margarita 138, St. Joseph of Lakewood 32: Katie McLaughlin delivered a strong debut by capturing the 100 freestyle in a school-record 51.23 seconds and the 500 free in a county-leading 4:52.63 for the host Eagles. The former JSerra standout broke Lizzie Devitt’s 2012 school-record in the 100 free (51.58) and narrowly missed Sydney Franzen’s standard in the 500 (4:52.24).
In Sea View League boys:
No. 7 Dana Hills 97, San Clemente 73: Freshman Trent Pelini out-dueled Aidan Pastel by 13 one-hundredth of a second to take the 200 IM (1:56.46) and also won the breaststroke (59.49) to lead the host and defending league champion Dolphins. Mitchell Heimbach swept the 50 (22.38) and 100 (49.24) freestyles for Dana Hills.
