Photo by Bobby R. Hester
Photo by Bobby R. Hester

Orange Coast Paces Pack, Tigers in the Hunt after Day One of OEC Swimming & Diving Championships

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Day one of the 2018 Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Swimming & Diving Championships kicked off today with 10 swimming events occurring. The Orange Coast College Pirates stole the show with each side finishing ahead of the pack with the men earning 246 total points and the women amassing 287 total points.

For the men, the Pirates earned all but one first-place finish. OCC's freshman Hayden Hemmens broke the 500 Free conference record with a time of 4:29.41. He snapped Riverside's Adrien Deloffre's record set in 2016. Michael Jones earned a first-place nod in the 50 Free after touching the wall with a time of 20.57. Dawson Sloan earned the bronze in the 200 IM with a clip of 1:54.99 after shaving four seconds off of his seed time.

Santiago Rivera highlighted Golden West's efforts as he hauled in the lone Rustler first-place finish with a clip of 1:51.51 in the 200 IM. He trimmed approximately four seconds off of his seed time. Jacob Thompson earned the silver medal in the 500 Free with a time of 4:45.02, while Connor Wallace placed fourth in the 500 Free with a mark of 4:49.41. Liam McClafferty placed fifth in the 500 Free with a clip of 4:51.77.

Riverside was highlighted by Javier Bernal as he placed second in the 200 IM with a time of 1:54.15. Farouk Zaoui placed third in the 500 Free with a time of 4:49.17.

Orange Coast paced the field of women with a trio of first place finishes. Lilli Lingard earned a first-place showing in the 50 Free with a clip of 23.99, while Kylie McCormick hauled in the gold with a time of 2:14.90 in the 200 IM. Cheyenne Morris reigned supreme in the 500 Free with a time of 5:13.34.

Supavee Nilaad highlighted RCC with a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:19.10. Caelan Loroff earned a fifth place finish in the 500 Free with a time of 5:43.42, while Monet Marquez placed fifth in the 50 Free with a clip of 26.58. The Tigers did well in the diving events with Jaquelin Meza placing third in the one meter.  

Saddleback's Kailey Banayat and Kaylee Inducil worked towards sixth-place finishes to helm their crew. Banayat earned a time of 2:20.82 in the 200 IM, while Inducil worked towards a5:50.59 clip in the 500 Free. Sarah Duke notched a second-place finish in the one-meter dive.  

Below are the scores after day one:

 

MEN

Orange Coast – 287

Golden West – 214

Riverside – 168

Saddleback – 131

Cypress – 75

Fullerton – 0

Santa Ana -0

 

WOMEN

Orange Coast – 246

Riverside – 181

Saddleback – 159

Golden West – 104

Cypress – 100

Fullerton – 99

Santa Ana – 0