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

Men’s Swimming Caps Season with Strong Showing at CCCAA State Championships

The Riverside City College men's swimming team qualified three individuals and four relays at the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships in late Aprils to earn the right to participate at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championships at De Anza College this past weekend. The Tigers swam very well highlighted by a pair of podium finishes from Javier Bernal en route to a ninth-place showing.

Bernal made waves in the pool with two top-three marks. His best came in the 200 Fly where he touched the wall first with a time of 1:50.57. His mark acts as the new RCC record. In addition, he placed third in the 200 IM with a clip of 1:52.07 and fifth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:05.93.

Alexandre Piron strung together some solid performances highlighted by a fifth place showing in the 100 Fly with a mark reading 49.50. He followed with a ninth-place finish in the 100 Free with a time of 46.58. Farouk Zaoui, the 2017 State Swimmer of the Meet, earned a ninth place finish in the 400 IM with a clip of 4:08.51 and an 11th place mark in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:57.08.

The relays were highlighted by a tied for fifth place mark in the 800 Free Relay. A team consisting of Jesse Mondragon, Piron, Zaoui, and Bernal earned a time of 7:01.90. The same foursome earned a time of 1:27.76 in the 200 Free Relay which earned them 11th place.