RCC WOMEN WIN SECOND OEC MEET

The Riverside City College women's swimming and diving team has established itself as the team to beat at the upcoming Orange Empire Conference Finals in mid-April.  The Tigers won a second straight conference meet on Friday at Orange Coast College.

Riverside City is winning with strength in numbers.  The Tigers had just two individual wins for the day but finished with 25 top five finishes for the day.  Kate Simmons won the 1-meter dive with a score of 188.23 while Isadora Taylor was a winner in the 1650 Freestyle (20:05.80).

Golden West edged inter-district rival Orange Coast for second place at the meet.  The Rustlers used a similar formula, winning only once for the day but registering 13 finishes in the top five.  Sienna Abernathy was the lone winner, capturing the top spot in the 500 Freestyle (5:33.13).

Orange Coast finished just behind in third place, but the Pirates had only eight athletes in the pool on Friday.  OCC made the most of the opportunities, winning nine events.  Analiese Duncan and Leyna Nguyen were the headliners, winning three events each.  Duncan won in the 200 Individual Medley (2:11.28), 100 Breaststroke (1:08.10) and 200 Breaststroke (2:31.48) while Nguyen won in the 50 Freestyle (24.50), 100 Butterfly (1:01.61) and 100 Freestyle (54.25).  In addition, Emma Steffens captured a win in the 100 Backstroke (1:03.49) while both the 400 Freestyle Relay Team (3:45.67) and 400 Medley Relay Team (4:14.31) were winners.

Cypress finished in fifth place at the meet but registered four wins for the day.  Chantee Nguyen had wins in both the 200 Freestyle (2:03.01) and 100 Individual Medley (1:02.81) to lead the way for the Chargers.  Mia Stockwell was a winner in the 200 Backstroke (2:23.83) while Joanna Cruz captured a win in the 3-meter diving competition (134.18).

Saddleback finished fourth overall in the team competition and had multiple wins from Delaney Cowan.  She won both the 400 Individual Medley (4:59.36) and 200 Butterfly (2:25.48) to lead the Bobcats.

The Orange Empire Conference Finals take place at Orange Coast College on April 16-18.

Story by Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback College