The swim team brought home three wins in a dual South Coast Conference meet.
Both teams will compete again Friday, Apr. 1 at 12:30 p.m., at home against Chaffey College and East Los Angeles College.
On Friday, Mar. 25, the men’s team won both meets against Pasadena City College and Rio Hondo College, while the women defeated Rio Hondo, but ultimately lost to Pasadena.
The women, who put up 121 points against Pasadena, lost by 35. The team earned seven second place finishes at the meet.
According to head coach Sergio Macias, acknowledged that the team swam well in both meets, but unfortunately they just lost to a better team [Pasadena].
Andria Melendez, Lucila Davies, and Desiree Estrada competed in the 1000-yard freestyle. The girls claimed the top three spots in the race.
Melendez came in first at 13:01.48, while Davies and Estrada came in second and third place at 13:05.03 and 13:04.42.
Macias said, “It was a close race amongst the swimmers who swam that event so it brought out the competitive side in them [women’s swim team].”
The swim team also competed in the 200-yard medley relay. The racing team consisted of Valeria Barboza, Channon Owens, Scarled Murillo, and Claudia Martinez.
The girls completed the event in 2:09.60.
“Our goal as a team is to drop time and compete against the clock and the other swimmers in the pool.
“At the meet, I know that I could have personally done a lot better than I did […] we are a very talented team, we just need to go out there and show it,” Owens said.
Barboza, Melendez, Vanessa Hinojosa, and Estrada each turned in individual second place finishes. Barboza, who earned the most, received three.
As for the men’s team, they had many successes as well.
The team earned four first place finishes for the day.
One of the first place wins came from the 400-yard freestyle.
Davey Brown, Jeffrey Park, Kevin De Leon, and Peter Roldan completed the race in 3:22.84.
Head coach Joe Abing chose the four swimmers for the relay team.
He admitted that depending on the school the team will swim against will determine how he puts the relay team together. Also, he clarified that one of the relays will always include the team’s four fastest guys.
De Leon said, “This wasn’t the first time that the four of us swam together. Last week, we had Jesus [Rojas], Davey [Brown], and me swim the 100 [yard] and we also got first.
“This time we had Peter [Roladan], and if anything, he made us better…and we just blew out the competition.”
Jesus Rojas earned the other three first place finishes for the team.
Abing stated with pride that the team is improving a lot each week.
Mitchell Bowman and Daniel Loeza each earned individual second place finishes that contributed to the overall swim teams double victory.
Bowman finished the 100-yard backstroke at 1:00.14, and the 200-yard backstroke in 2:14.40.
Loeza claimed the second place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:07.84.
Concerning the upcoming meet at home, both coaches have expressed that they are going to continue to help their team improve their times in the pool.
Both teams currently hold a record of 4-2.
