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Posted: Apr 24, 2020

2020 Season Interrupted: Highlights From South Coast Conference Swimming

2020 Season Interrupted: Highlights From South Coast Conference Swimming

With the sudden end in early March of the 2020 South Coast Conference swim season due to the worldwide health crisis, the end result produced no SCC team dual meet title, no conference team or individual champions, but it doesn't take away the performances of SCC teams and the many strong swimmers who were denied a trip to the annual CCCAA State Meet, which would have been hosted this year in May by conference member East Los Angeles College. Here's a recap of SCC swimming highlights.

WOMEN HIGHLIGHTS

The team dual standings were turning into a two-team race as both Mt. San Antonio and Long Beach had perfect 4-0 records. A March 27 dual meet between the two never materialized. Pasadena City (2-1) and Cerritos (2-2) also had standout meets in the early going. 

Individually, 2019 SCC Co-Swimmers of the Year, El Camino's Ida Due and Pasadena City's Carmen Ung, were each on their way to repeating their awards as well as compete for state titles in a variety of events. 

Due dominated the distance swims in being the state leader in the 500-yard freestyle (5:24.93), the 1,000 freestyle (11:08.10) and the 1,650 freestyle (19:15.36). In all, she led the conference in a remarkable eight events, including state #2 in the 400 individual medley (IM), state #3 in the 200 IM, state #3 in the 200 freestyle, #4 in the 200 backstroke, and #5 in the 100 IM. 

Ung also was high in the SCC with the top times in seven events, including a top state mark in the 100 IM, and #2 state ranked times in each of the 50, 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Ung also swam state #4 in the 200 butterfly and #5 in the 50 freestyle. 

If it seemed like Due and Ung owned the monopoly board--they did. The only events among SCC participants that were not topped by either of the pair was the 50 and 100 butterfly swims by Mt. San Antonio's Valerie Chen and the 50 backstroke by Long Beach City's Jillian Schultz. Chen had the fifth best state time in the 100 fly at 1:01.82 and 100 breaststroke (second in conference) while seventh best in the 200 breaststroke (also second in the SCC). Schultz recorded the conference's second fastest times in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, and the 500 freestyle. Pasadena's Emily Gray was second fastest in the SCC in the 200 freestyle. Mt. SAC's Mirielle Lira swam SCC second in the 50 backstroke while Long Beach's Rachel Westphal was second in the 50 freestyle.

On the distance side, Mt. SAC's Alexis Aguirre swam fifth in the state and second in the conference in the 1,000 freestyle while Chaffey's Vanessa Murray was seventh statewide (third SCC). Aguirre had the conference's second fastest mile time. 

In the relays, the 800 freestyle relay produced state top times behind El Camino's seventh and Cerritos at #8. 

El Camino star swimmer Ida Due

 

MEN HIGHLIGHTS

Since 2014, Mt. San Antonio had won six straight SCC team championships (finals not dual season). The Mounties posted a 4-0 dual mark and was leading the conference again when the sports shutdown took place in March. Cerritos was in second place at 3-1 while Pasadena was in range at 2-1. 

Mt. SAC's Nathan Chow was the leading candidate for SCC Swimmer of the Year candidate at the time of the sports stoppage. He was the conference leader in six different events and had the state's fastest times in the 200 backstroke (1:58.93), the 200 IM (1:56.17) and 1,000 freestyle (10:07.60). Chow also was #3 statewide in the 100 backstroke and 100 IM plus #4 in the 200 freestyle. 

Mountie Jonathan Olvera posted the state's top mark in the 200 butterfly (1:57.49) while Pasadena's Michael Humphrey was a close #2 (1:57.64). Humphrey led the SCC in two events--the 400 IM (state #2 at 4:23.47) and the 100 butterfly (state #4)--and was all over the conference leader boards with a #2 in the 200 IM (state #8) and 200 breaststroke (state #7), and SCC #3 in the 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke. He was also state #4 in the 1,000 freestyle. Olvera was third best in state in the 400 IM. 

PCC's Harrison Tin led conference swimmers in the 50, 100 (state #4) and 200 (state #6) breaststrokes while state #7 in the 100 IM. Mt. SAC's Parker Egan was strong in the distance events, state #2 in the 1,000 freestyle and #5 in both the 500 (led SCC) and 1,650 freestyles. Cerritos swimmer Rodrigo Baca swam a state #4 in the 100 backstroke, #6 in the 50 butterfly, and #8 in the 50 backstroke. Long Beach City's Sullivan Moore ranked state #7 in leading the conference in the 50 freestyle (21.46), #5 in the state in the 100 IM and #7 in the 50 breaststroke. 

The Falcons' Colson Morrow was state #3 in the 1,000 freestyle while Chaffey's Jade El-Gaouny had the best conference mile time (17:46.59, state #4, just .16 of a second ahead of Egan). LBCC's Michael Baker swam state #6 in the 100 backstroke and #7 in the 200 backstroke. 

The SCC was well represented among state relay squads with Mt. SAC's top mark in the 800 freestyle relay (7:31 flat), followed by #4 El Camino, and #6 Cerritos. The Mounties were state #6 in the 400 free relay with Pasadena at #7. The Lancers had SCC's best 200 medley relay (state #8) and 400 medley relay (#6) times. Mt. SAC was #8 in the 400 medley relay.