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

Riverside Swimming & Diving Blows Competition Out of the Water

The Riverside City College men's and women's swimming & diving program kicked off its 2019 campaign on Friday morning by hosting the Riverside Sprint Meet. It was utter dominance displayed by the Tigers in a meet with slim competition as the men and women took home first place with ease.

The men scored an absurd 1,239 points, while the women clocked in a strong 758 points.  

The men were led by freshman Erick Fathoni who placed first in all three of his events. He began by clocking a 100 Fly time of 52.93, backed by a 1:00.30 time in the 100 Breaststroke and a 1:58.23 mark in the 200 IM. Freshman Zack Thelwell matched him with three first-place finishes beginning with a 50 Free time of 22.23. He continued on to earn a 1:53.10 mark in the 200 Free and a 48.98 clip in the 100 Free.

Freshman Andrew Kucenas earned a pair of top finishes starting with a 58.55 mark in the 100 Back. He capped his day with a 50 Back time of 28.95. Freshman Sennes Chow earned a first place finish by touching the wall at a time of 29.36 in the 50 Breaststroke.

The women were led by freshman Liz Bouffort as she earned a trio of first-place finishes. She began by reigning supreme in the 50 Free at a time of 25.93. She continued on to earn a 2:06.10 mark in the 200 Free, backed by a 57.08 in the 100 Free. Freshman Mackenzie Herndon earned a pair of first-place finishes with a time of 34.91 in the 50 Breaststroke and a 1:15.24 mark in the 100 Breaststroke.

Freshman Emilia Bennet experienced a strong debut highlighted by a second-place finish in the 100 Fly at a time of 1:04.6. Sophomore Caelan Loroff reeled in a second-place finish in the 200 Free at a clip reading 2:07.36.

Riverside will continue action on Friday, February 22 at the Golden West Invitational at 9 a.m.