For the ninth time in the past 16 seasons, SRJC ranks in the top 3 statewide after their 3rd place podium finish at the CCCAA Swimming & Diving State Championship Meet last weekend. "Going into the meet, we knew we had a great shot at being in the top 5, but to battle our way back onto the podium after last year was very exciting," commented head coach Jill McCormick.
The Bear Cubs strong team performance had 6 of their 9 qualifiers final in their individual events. Freshman Jessica Lee, Big 8 Swimmer of the Year, took 3rd in the 500 Free, 5th in the 200 Free, and 2nd in the 1650 Free with a record breaking time of 17:34.19--improving on her Big 8 title winning time by over 12 seconds! Sophomore Celine Sargis also had three top 8 finishes taking 5th in the 200 IM, 4th in the 100 Back, and 7th in the 200 Back. Lee and Sargis were both members of SRJC's four top 8 relays as well.
Standout freshmen Lucia Mora, Jasmine Alger, and Elana Candiotti also had impressive debuts at the state meet with several top 8 finishes. Mora took 8th in the 100 Breast and 5th in the 200 Breast, Alger took 7th in the 100 Fly and 5th in the 200 Fly, and diver Candiotti took 2nd on the 1M board and 4th on the 3M board.
Sophomore Ivylee Senn took 10th in the 100 Fly and 13th in the 200 Fly, and relay only swimmers: Dulcie Manchenton, Gina Peil, and Julia Kennedy helped get four of SRJC's five relays into the top 8 as well: 200 Free (14th), 400 Medley (4th), 200 Medley (4th), 800 Free (6th), and 400 Free (8th). Congratulations to the Bear Cubs on another successful season.
2016 CCCAA State Swimming and Diving Championships Complete Results
Final Team Scores (top 10 only): 1. Orange Coast 569 2. Sierra 337 3. Santa Rosa 294 4. Santa Barbara 281 5. Golden West 264 6. San Mateo 234 7. Las Positas 232 8. Riverside 220 9. Foothill 196 10. Grossmont 148
SRJC Top Event Finishers: 200 Free Relay-14th, Manchenton, Mora, Peil, Kennedy, 1:44.84; 500 Free-3rd, Jessica Lee, 5:10.92; 200 IM-5th, Celine Sargis, 2:12.61; 400 Medley Relay-4th, Sargis, Mora, Senn, Lee, 4:05.44; 1M Diving-2nd, Elana Candiotti, 182.25pts; 200 Medley Relay-4th, Sargis, Mora, Senn, Lee, 1:52.49; 100 Fly-7th, Jasmine Alger, 1:01.88; 200 Free-5th, Jessica Lee, 1:56.26; 100 Breast-8th, Lucia Mora, 1:09.89; 100 Back-4th, Celine Sargis, 58.91; 800 Free Relay-6th, Lee, Senn, Sargis, Mora, 8:03.51; 3M Diving-4th, Elana Candiotti, 187.50pts; 1650 Free-2nd, Jessica Lee, 17:34.19; 200 Back-7th, Celine Sargis, 2:10.94; 200 Breast-5th, Lucia Mora, 2:28.75; 200 Fly-6th, Jasmine Alger, 2:14.68; 400 Free Relay-8th, Lee, Senn, Sargis, Manchenton, 3:49.67