Glendora, CA - Cuesta and Ventura colleges ran to top-two finishes on Thursday in both the men’s and women’s meets at the Western State Conference championships, hosted by Citrus College.
The Cuesta women scored 235 points, distancing themselves by just 32 from the Ventura Lady Pirates, who had 203 in second place. L.A. Pierce was close behind in third place with 198 points. Cuesta won the 200y freestyle relay and took home first and second place finishes in the 1M diving competition. Jennifer Vreeke led the way with 269.30 points for the Lady Cougars.
Ventura, for their efforts, won three of the days six finals. Christine Zimmer took the 500y freestyle crown, Christa Ratcliff claimed the 100y IM title and the 400y medley relay team also won, giving each lady a second WSC win. Jessica Chen of L.A. Pierce won the only individual title for the Lady Brahmas with a 24.73 in the 50y freestyle.
The Ventura men took a big lead heading into the second day, scoring 296 points for a 98-point gap over second-place Cuesta. The Pirates took home first-place finishes in all five swimming events that were completed, including the 200y freestyle and 400y Medley relays. Ben Vail took home three WSC wins, as a member of both relays as well as a first-place finish in the 50y freestyle. Brett Todd of Ventura won the 200y IM and Kneif Lohse won the 500y freestyle. Bobby Styles of Santa Monica won the 3M diving event with 353.80 points, beating Matthew Belleci of Cuesta by just 9/10ths of a point.
Host Citrus College sits in fourth place for the women and fifth for the men after the first day of competition. The women’s 400y medley relay took home the best result with a fourth-place finish. Christie Forster was fifth place in the diving competition. For the Owl men’s team, the 200y freestyle relay team took third place.
The WSC championships continue on Friday morning at 10:00 am.