Pirates in fifth after Day 1 of swim/dive championships
LOS ANGELES -- The Orange Coast College men's swim team picked up 95 points and is in fifth place overall after the first day of competition at the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving State Championships, held at East Los Angeles College.
Golden West currently leads on the men's side with 144 points, while Cuesta (118), Palomar (109) and Ventura (97) slightly ahead of the Pirates with two days of competition still ahead.
Highlights for the Pirates on Day 1 include a pair of third-place performances by two of OCC's relay teams.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the foursome of Sean Richards, Collin Latham, Tyler Jankovich and Chris Bernard carried a slight lead for most of the race before Cuesta rallied late for a winning time of 1 minute, 23.36 seconds. Golden West (1:23.51) took second, while the Pirates (1:23.86) took the bronze.
In the 400 medley relay, Gerritt Hill joined Bernard, Jankovich and Richards trailed the leaders by six seconds at the 100-yard mark before finishing strong with a third-place time of 3:27.12, trailing only Diablo Valley (3:25) and Ventura (3:26.5).
In the 3-meter diving event, freshman Stephen Nissen performed well and finished sixth overall with a score of 221.85. L.A. Pierce's Ryan Anderson won the state title with a score of 271.50.
More swimming and diving action takes place today and Saturday at East L.A. College. You can follow the action online at http://takeitlive.tv/liveswim/?page_id=3539.
