It was supposed to be the turning point at the Foothill League Swim Finals, where the West Ranch boys made their move toward first place and ended Hart’s run of league titles dating back to 1997.

Instead, the Indians used it as an opportunity to solidify their standing as the team to beat.

The Hart boys team broke up the Wildcats’ dominance in the 100-yard breaststroke and edged out Valencia in a dramatic 400-yard freestyle relay to win its 23rd overall league title, while the Hart girls cruised to their 28th league title on Thursday at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center.

Even though the West Ranch boys ended the regular season undefeated in league dual meets, the Indians take the title by way of their performance at the league finals.

With the other teams taking a loss after the meet, Hart and West Ranch both boast 5-1 records. The league finals serves as the tiebreaker, giving the championship to the Indians, according to league bylaws.

“We were so pumped up,” said Hart’s Alex Ngan, who set a league record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.15 and won the 50 freestyle in 21.56 seconds. “We wanted to continue (the run) as long as possible.”

The last time the Hart boys failed to win a league title was in 1996 to Burroughs, which was also the last team to beat the Indians in a league dual meet prior to West Ranch’s victory on April 21.

On Thursday, seven record-breaking times were recorded, including Golden Valley’s Michelle Duraj’s mark of 23.93 in the 50 freestyle, and West Ranch’s Riley Mita’s times in the 200 freestyle (1:43.20) and 500 freestyle (4:33.49). Both swimmers were named Swimmer of the Meet.

But in the end, the day belonged to the Indians, who won on the girls’ side with a team score of 508, with Valencia coming in second at 345, Canyon third (341), Saugus fourth (269), West Ranch fifth (214) and Golden Valley sixth (133).

“It was an amazing swim meet,” said Saugus head coach Vicky Donnelly. “There’s no other way to describe it. Everyone really brought their ‘A’ game and stepped up their times to a level none of these coaches have ever seen.”

On the boys’ side, Hart posted a final tally of 418, followed by Valencia (399), West Ranch (373.5), Canyon (283.5), Saugus (234) and Golden Valley (102).

The difference came in the 100 breaststroke, an event the Wildcats swept against Hart in their last meeting.

“This was one of the best years and no matter what, we are still No. 1 in our hearts. And I don’t care how cheesy that sounds,” said West Ranch senior Kyle Burke.

Burke maintained his perfect record in the 100 breaststroke, winning in 1:00.78. But Hart seniors Grant Miladin and Justin Farr took second and third, with times of 1:01.59 and 1:02.99, respectively.

“I had this thinking of, this is it. There’s no reason to hold back now. There is nothing to save it for,” Miladin said, expressing his excitement over preserving his team’s run of championships. “It’s a relief and an honor above all.”

With only the 400-freestyle relay remaining, the Indians fought off Valencia to win in 3:13.89, besting the old record of 3:14.22 set last year by the Vikings.

“The come-from-behind win for the championship, this tops my senior year,” said Hart senior Konrad Antoniuk, who swam the final leg of the race. “This was my favorite meet ever. Everyone really picked it up, down to our slowest swimmers, and got the points we needed.”

The Indians also won the boys 200-medley relay (1:39.32), girls 200-medley relay (1:49.92), girls 200-freestyle relay (1:39.29) and girls 400-freestyle relay (3:37.35). Individually, Hart junior Hayley Good was the league champion in the 100 freestyle (53.07) and senior Maggie Hanson won the 200 individual medley in 2:08.16.

“This was the best year,” Hanson said fighting back tears. “I couldn’t ask for a better team. I couldn’t even watch that (boys 400-freestyle relay), because this has been everything for them.”

Teammate Nicole Antoniuk won the 500 freestyle in 5:04.42, leading a 1-2-3 sweep of the event.

For West Ranch, the loss was hard to take, especially after Mita’s performances, which broke a pair of records by Hart’s Ryan Parmenter. Mita’s time in the 500 freestyle set a new district mark and beat Parmenter’s league mark of 4:40.54 set in 1997. The old record in the 200 freestyle was 1:42.66, set in 1998.

“I just wanted to win so badly,” said Mita after winning the 200 freestyle. “I hate losing with an absolute passion. I just tried to get things going.”

Valencia junior Bob Hwang was also a double winner, taking the 200 IM in 1:56.68 and the 100 butterfly with a league record-breaking time of 50.95.

“We were fired up,” Hwang said. “We are just sick of Hart’s ranting. We are trying to shut them up.”

The Vikings also won the boys 200-freestyle relay (1:30.04) and got an individual victory from Micaela Velasquez in the 200 freestyle (1:53.58). The time broke Hanson’s mark of 1:53.90, set one year ago.

Duraj was also a double winner on the day, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.42 and breaking Lindsay Gassner’s record of 24.21 in the 50 freestyle, originally set in 1992.

“It’s been in the back of my mind for a year,” said Duraj, who missed the record by .07 last year. “It’s unreal. Now I can just have fun with it. No pressure.”

Canyon also had standout performances, getting victories from dominant senior Kearsten Livingstone in the 100 butterfly (55.92) and 100 backstroke (57.13).

Her teammate Nui Harris claimed the league title in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.94.

Up next is the CIF-Southern Section Division I meet on Wednesday in Long Beach.