Ruby Gonzalez lead the Bear Cubs to a 5th place finish at the Big 8 Championships at American River College in Sacramento April 21-23. Gonzalez was the Big 8 Champion in the 200 Free with a time of 1:57.52 and she finished 2nd in both the 100 and 200 Backstrokes swimming 1:00.87 and 2:12.35 respectively. As a result of her high level performance in her indivudal events as well as balancing a very challenging schedule with double events and relays on Friday, the Big 8 coaches honored her with the "Performance of the Meet" Award.
Other stand out performances came from Ashley Simmons finishing 2nd in both the 100 and 200 Breaststrokes (1:09.54, 2:30.90), Riley West finishing 3rd in the 1650 Free (19:16.09), and Jada Andrews 3rd place in the 500 Free (5:32.86).
Other top 8 finalists for SRJC included:
- Emily Nightingale - 5th, 1M Board, 146.65pts
- Jada Andrews - 7th, 200 Free, 2:11.79 - 5th, 1650 Free, 20:01.06
- Riley West - 7th, 500 Free, 5:49.10 - 6th, 200 Fly, 2:41.13
- Betsy Mensch - 6th, 400 IM, 5:29.13
- Lila Clarkson - 7th, 100 Fly, 1:07.65
- Victoria Jensen - 7th, 100 Breast, 1:16:54
- Dyani Lopez - 8th, 200 Back, 2:32.09
SRJC's had two top three relay finishes as well in the 400 Medley (Gonzalez, Simmons, Andrews, Lopez) and the 800 Free (Andrews, Simmons, West, Andrews).
As a result of their strong performances at championships, the SRJC women qualified 5 individuals and all 5 relays to represent the Cubs at the CCCAA State Swimming & Diving Championships at East LA College, May 5-7 including:
- Ruby Gonzalez
- 50 Free, No. 1 Seed
- 200 Free, No. 2 Seed
- 200 Back, No. 5 Seed
- Jada Andrews
- 500 Free, No. 13 Seed
- 200 Free, No. 15 Seed
- 1650 Free, No. 15 Seed
- Ashley Simmons
- 100 Breast, No. 9 Seed
- 200 Breast, No. 6 Seed
- Riley West
- 500 Free, No. 23 Seed
- 1650 Free, No. 8 Seed
- Emily Nightingale
- 1M Board
- Team Relays
- 200 Free Relay, No. 13 Seed
- 400 Medley Relay, No. 9 Seed
- 200 Medley Relay, No. 9 Seed
- 800 Free Relay, No. 6 Seed
- 400 Free Relay, No. 13 Sed
- Lila Clarkson, Relays
- Dyani Lopez, Relays
In order to qualify for the state meet, athletes must finish the regular season seeded in the top 16 as an indivudal or in the top 12 as a relay team. Click here for complete Big 8 Championship Results