Protest Filed Over the Eligibility of Mission Viejo Swimmer in Meet

MISSION VIEJO — Capistrano Valley High School has lodged a protest against the Mission Viejo High School boys’ swim team, and it could affect the outcome of the South Coast League final, league President Tom Anthony said Monday.

Capistrano Valley protested that a Diablo swimmer should not have been allowed to compete because he had been scratched during a coaches’ meeting Wednesday. The swimmer originally had been declared academically ineligible, according to Anthony.

El Toro won the meet with 424 points, with Mission Viejo second (410) and Capistrano Valley third (406). If the protest is upheld, the meet scoring will be adjusted, with El Toro and Capistrano Valley finishing as co-champions.

Thursday, the swimmer was ruled to be eligible and allowed to compete in the league preliminaries.

The protest, filed by Capistrano Valley Coach Don Cholodenko, claimed the move violated National Federation rules, which say a swimmer must be entered for a championship meet at a specific meeting. The protest contends that meeting was held Wednesday night.

All Southern Section meets are conducted under federation rules.

Anthony, principal at Capistrano Valley, said a meeting of league principals will be held this week to hear the protest.