Stelle One-Ups Nemesis in 4-A Backstroke Final

Agoura High backstroker Jason Stelle climbed out of the pool at Belmont Plaza last year after winning the 2-A Division 100-yard backstroke title, and only one swimmer in Southern Section history had covered the distance faster than Stelle.

Last Friday, Stelle, now a senior, emerged from the same pool after winning the 4-A Division 100-yard backstroke title, and he stood alone. After posting a time of 50.87 seconds in 1990, Stelle had set a record of 49.62 seconds.

For 11 years, the standard had belonged to Steve Barnicoat of Mission Viejo, who swam the 100 backstroke in 50.68 seconds in 1980, the same year he made the Olympic team.

“If someone had told me four years ago that I would have swum a 49.6 I would have laughed,” Stelle said.

The last laugh now, however, is Stelle’s. He capped his high school career with his best performance. And he did it by edging a rival backstroker swimming in an adjacent lane.

“He always has risen to the occasion,” said Agoura Coach Mike Mulligan, who has coached Stelle for four years and considers him as close as a brother. “He always has that little extra. He’s just a special, special person.”

Another special swimmer was the backstroker next to Stelle on Friday night: longtime rival Thomas Westcott of Huntington Beach. Stelle and Westcott have been pushing each other for years, swimming in club meets in the Southland as well as in national meets.

Going into Friday night’s race, Stelle and Westcott had met twice, each winning once. With Stelle in Lane 5 and Westcott in Lane 4 for the final, Barnicoat’s mark was sure to be only a memory. The question was: Which swimmer would emerge a champion?

At the 50-yard mark, according to Stelle’s mother Sandy, it did not look like it would be her son.

“He missed his turn,” she said. “It was still legal, but he only kicked off with one leg and we all knew that Tom Westcott is too fine a swimmer to give him anything. He was ahead of Jas and we all thought, ‘Boy, this is going to be interesting.’ ”

Stelle, too, was aware that the 6-foot-4 Westcott had the edge going into the final 50 yards. But such is the stuff of athletic drama: Stelle fed off the adversity.

“I could see behind the block all these hands pumping and cheering me on,” Stelle said. “It got me all pumped up. If it wasn’t for my family and friends doing that, I couldn’t have passed him. It just did wonders for me.”

And left Westcott wondering what happened. Westcott touched in 49.94 seconds, better than the old section record. But to his right was a swimmer who touched in 49.62 seconds, a new section mark.

Call the series, 2-1, Stelle.

And call Stelle, who also finished second in the 200 individual medley with a personal best of 1:50.82, a champion.

Stelle displayed equanimity despite the excitement. Take, for example, his reaction immediately after the race.

“I knew that (Westcott) was bummed out, so I tried to stay calm,” said Stelle, who has signed a letter to attend USC in the fall. “We both knew how important this was.”