Pirate women rule the pool at OEC Championships
RIVERSIDE -- Twenty events ... 18 wins for the Orange Coast College women's swim team as the Pirates dominated the field at the 2018 Orange Empire Conference swim/dive championships, hosted by Riverside City College, this past weekend.
Coast rolled to victory with 853 points, followed by Riverside (533), Saddleback (488), Golden West (346), Cypress (296), Fullerton (292) and Santa Ana (12).
The Pirate duo of Cheyenne Morris and Lauren Weins were named the Co-Swimmers of the Meet, while OCC head coach Anthony Iacopetti was named the OEC Coach of the Year.
The Pirates set the tone in the opening race of the meet, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay finals with a time of 1 minute, 37.78 seconds as the foursome of Morris, Meghan Kluck, Kylie McCormick and Lilli Lindgard touched the wall a full seven seconds ahead of runner-up Riverside.
Morris captured her first individual OEC title in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:13.34.
It was a 1-2 finish for the Pirates in the 200 individual medley as McCormick came through with a winning time of 2:14.9, just slightly ahead of teammate Morganne Goodson's time of 2:17.87.
It was a podium full of Pirates in the 50 freestyle as Lindgard led a 1-2-3 finish for the Pirates with a tinning time of 23.99. Kluck (24.01) took home the silver, while Kennedy Hood (24.15) captured the bronze.
Finally in the 400 medley relay, Coast's Weins, Kluck, McCormick and Hood dominated the field with a time of 3:55.63, a full 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Golden West.
On Day 2, Coast's quartet of Weins, Kluck, Hood and Lindgard rolled to a 10-second victory in the 200 medley relay relay with a time of 1:46.17.
Morris continued her dominant form, winning the 400 IM with a time of 4:35.91, nearly 15 second ahead of the rest of the pool.
Weins (57.54) and McCormick (59.05) cracked the 1-minute mark en route to a 1-2 finish in the 100 butterfly, while in the 200 freestyle, Hood picked up another gold medal for the Pirates with a time of 1:56.14, edging out Cypress College's Jordyn Morris for the top spot.
Kluck (1:04.05) and Maddie Weber (1:13.46) finished 1-3 in the 100 breaststroke, while in the 100 backstroke, it was a 1-2-3 finish, led by Weins (57.21), Lindgard (59.98) and Bailey Lloyd (1:00.76).
Afer a mind-blowing 52-second win in the prelim race of the 800 free relay, the foursome of Morris, Hood, Lindgard and Weins rolled to a 26-second win with a time of 7:56.72.
Racking up her mileage for the weekend, Morris claimed another individual title for the Pirates, winning the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 18:09.51, nearly 17 seconds faster than the rest of the field.
Weins (2:05.47) and Lloyd (2:14.3) took the top two spots in the 200 back, while the threesome of Kluck (52.45), Hood (52.79) and Lindgard (52.86) finished 1-2-3 in the 100 free.
Another race, another 1-2 finish for the Pirates as McCormick (2:26.56) and Goodson (2:33.14) took the gold and silver in the 200 breaststroke, while Michelle Cornejo (2:16.75) and Jackie Chang (2:19.23) earned the same top two spots in the 200 butterfly.
Finally, in the 400 free relay, the foursome of Kluck, Weins, Morris and Lindgard wrapped up the meet with a winning time of 3:35.66, over 11 seconds ahead of the Rustlers (3:46.82).
The Pirates will look for even bigger and better scores and times at the 2018 California Community College Athletic Association State Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by De Anza College, on May 3-5.
