It is hard to define what makes one team greater or better than another, especially when they span different eras. But sometimes teams come along that are regarded so highly, stories about them are handed down from one generation to the next about the team that couldn't be beaten.
Or, in a rare case, the team that could.
With that in mind, The Times Orange County set about trying to find the greatest teams in local history, taking into account record, impact and competition.
1: 1983 Mission Viejo Boys' Swimming
This program has been named national champion 10 times by Swimming World magazine, and there are several Olympians in its record books. But the strongest team of all time won because of its depth, not because it relied on a few individuals.
To prove the point, the 1983 Diablo team scored a 565-343 victory over the 1985 team (which had four Olympic swimmers and won its Southern Section meet by a record 224 points) in a mock dual meet that compared top times.
"This team was so deep, it destroyed people," Mission Viejo Coach Mike Pelton said. "[The others] didn't have the full complement of support athletes that made the '83 team stick out among all of them."
This team had 14 All-Americans, including Sean Dailey, Todd Hickman, Todd Sturgeon, Art Murphy, Gustavo and Mario Fernandez, Vic Riggs, Todd Rodgers and Guilio Sartorio.
They enjoyed perhaps their finest moment early in the season, when they competed in a dual meet against national private-school power Mercersburg Academy of Pennsylvania. Mercersburg was coming off its season while the Diablos were just beginning theirs.
As the meet wound down, Powell Hamilton, a backstroker and individual medley swimmer, needed to finish third or better in the 100 breaststroke for Mission Viejo to have a chance to win. Hamilton finished in 1 minute 1 second and took third.
That set the stage for the last event, the 1983 team's specialty, with the 400 freestyle relay of Tim Hourigan, Kris Wiest, Matt McCluskey and David Louden. Louden's 45.3 anchor provided the upset, 61-55.
That relay team went on to swim 3:03.34 seconds in the section finals, a record that still stands. It's the only '83 entry atop the school's record board.
"That team had tremendous focus and tremendous desire to win," Pelton said. "They went the extra mileage in practice and in the weight room, and their work ethic was unbelievable."
And they won as a result of it.
