Pirates roll to five state swim titles in Day 1 of State Championships
LOS ANGELES -- It was a Day 1 to remember for the Orange Coast College Pirates as they competed in five swim events and claimed five state titles in Day 1 of the California Community College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships, held at East Los Angeles College.
The Pirates racked up 161.5 points on Thursday and carry a 43.5-point lead over second-place Sierra into Day 2 of the event, which takes place throughout the day on Friday and Saturday at ELAC. For a live stream of the event, click HERE.
The fun got started right away as the Pirate foursome of Nacinda Paap, Alexa Clayfield, Sierra Cox and Rebecca Aguilar overcame a fast start by Sierra and pulled away for a winning time of 1 minute, 36 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Clayfield swam an impressive 23.76 leg before Aguilar anchored the Pirates home with a lightning-fast split of 22.75.
Cox jumped back in the pool for the 500 freestyle and went head-to-head with GWC rival Suzanna Gonzales throughout the entire race. With 50 yards to go, Cox fought back and caught Gonzales before touching the wall first with a time of 5:02.27, just ahead of Gonzales' time of 5:02.61.
In the 200 individual medley, Clayfield battled San Mateo's Erica Vong tooth and nail before the OCC sophomore edged out her CSM nemesis with a winning time of 2:06.62. Vong (2:06.89) finished second, while Santa Barbara City College's Addison Seale (2:11.07) took third.
Aguilar returned to the pool for the 50-yard freestyle and the defending state champion made it two straight as she blistered the field with a winning time of 23.33, just .09 off of the state meet record and .87 over the rest of the state's best in the event.
Finally, in the 400 medley relay, Cox anchored a squad that featured standouts Lauren Weins, Hannah Veseth and Alexis Hill and the Pirate foursome cruised to a six-second win with a time of 3:54.77. Veseth's 1:05.26 in the breaststroke leg put OCC ahead by four seconds and from there, Coast was able to extend its lead to win handedly.
