STATE SWIM & DIVE PREVIEW
For seven seasons from 2011-2017, East Los Angeles College's Swim Stadium was a haven for record-setting performances. But in 2018-2019, the state meet shifted up North to De Anza College. A return to ELAC was expected in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic not only cancelled the championship that year, but the meet was nixed again along with most competition throughout the state in 2021.
Finally after a 5-year absence, ELAC wil host the 2022 CCCAA State Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7. With 52 meet records set during the previous state meets here, only time will tell if the '22 edition will produce more records.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Orange Coast, state champions in both 2018 and 2019, hope to 3-peat after winning the Orange Empire Conference title. The other conference team champions coming into the state meet are Long Beach (South Coast), Santa Barbara City (Western State), San Diego Mesa (PCAC), San Joaquin Delta (Big 8), Sequoias (Central Valley), and West Valley (Coast).
Here is an event-by-event look at the state meet's women events (race events in yards):
THURSDAY, MAY 5
Event #1: 200 freestyle relay: Top Seed--Cuesta 1:40.23. Sierra is .68 of a second back and then Riverside City, Delta and Long Beach are all in striking distance under 1:42. Orange Coast at 1:42.18 can never be counted out either.
Event #3: 500 freestyle: Top Seed--Marie Lucquet, West Valley, 5:11.90. Lucquet is a heavy favorite here with #2 seed and OCC's Giselle Quinonez 4.31 seconds off the pace.
Event #5: 200 individual medley: Top Seed--Risa Akatsu, Santa Monica, 2:09.01. The Corsairs swimmer is a prohibitive favorite with a 6.74 second lead over the next in the field-Fullerton's Anoushka Jaievsky Fullerton at 2:15.75.
Event #7: 50 freestyle: Top Seed--Ruby Gonzalez, Santa Rosa JC, 24.33. Nothing like a sprint to see who will top themselves as the field is fierce with seven swimmers under 25. Next best after Gonzalez thus far is Orange Coast's Journey Werner at 24.61, then Bakersfield's Emma Jeffries at 24.73.
Event #9: 400 medley relay: Top Seed-Orange Coast, 4:07.09. The Pirates should battle it out with Sierra (4:10.64) as no one else is under 4:13.
Event #11: 1-meter board: Top Seed--Lorelai Carney, Riverside CC, 236.77 points. A tiny field is led by the Tigers' diver who should be challenged by Sierra's Laurel Plewe (215.30), and LA Valley's Anahit Cholokyan FR LA Valley (207.70).
FRIDAY, MAY 6
Event #13: 200 medley relay: Top Seed--Orange Coast, 1:50.50. The state meet record in this event was set by Orange Coast in 2016 (1:44.27), but the Pirates will have to fend off Sierra, Bakersfield and Diablo Valley among others for the '22 win.
Event #15: 400 individual medley: Top Seed--Marie Lucquet, West Valley, 4:44.23. The skilled Viking has a decisive edge of 5.68 seconds and could have 2 gold medals by the end of this finals race.
Event #17: 100 butterfly: Top Seed--Kanyada Doughty, Hartnell, 57.84. Doughty's faces a tough race with Cuesta's Ryanne Bartolome (58.48) and Ohlone's Mia Lam (59.35) her closest competitors. No one else had an under 1-minute seed mark.
Event #19: 200 freestyle: Top Seed--Risa Akatsu, Santa Monica, 1:53.91. Akatsu certainly will need to maintain a sharp pace as SRJC's Gonzalez (2.04 seconds) could be in striking distance.
Event #21: 100 breaststroke: Top Seed--Rylee Beidleman, Modesto JC, 1:06.63. The NorCal swimmer has an edge here, but expect San Diego Mesa's Sydney Fortune (1:07.10) and Las Positas' Ashley Sand (1:07.60) to go after gold as well.
Event #23: 100 backstroke: Top Seed--Ryanne Bartolome, Cuesta, 58.15. Only Long Beach's Atiya Yuwana has joined Bartolome in the under-minute club.
Event #25: 800 freestyle relay: Top Seed-Orange Coast, 8:08.25. No surprise here as West Valley has the next best time of 8:11.54.
Event #27: 3-meter board: Top Seed--Lorelai Carney, Riverside CC, 256.27 points. Everyone gets a medal, but only because five divers make up the state qualified field on the high board. Plewe, Cholokyan and American River's Jadyn Reeves will give it their best to try top the frontrunner Carney.
SATURDAY, MAY 7
Event #29: 1,650 freestyle: Top Seed--Giselle Quinonez, Orange Coast, 18:21.01. No swimmer has as big a difference in fastest time than Quinonez who established a whopping 27-second gap to the rest of the field. Mt. San Antonio's Laila Topinio has the edge for the silver at 18:48.34 (10 seconds faster than the third top seed).
Event #31: 200 backstroke: Top Seed--Ryanne Bartolome, Cuesta, 2:06.67. The speedy Cougar has a near 4-second edge over Modesto's Hayley Rivera. Bartolome certainly is capable of winning all 3 of the events she entered (also 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly).
Event #33: 100 freestyle: Top Seed--Journey Werner, Orange Coast, 53.30. So many of the women events feature athletes who if they swim to form as top seeds should win a number of the events. However, the 100 is one where Sequoias Jillian Lambert (.26 back) is a second favorite. American River's Haven Fasami, Delta's Sophia Schwartz, Santa Barbara's Ensley Letterman, and Fresno City's Taylor Anderson are also part of a fast field.
Event #35: 200 breaststroke: Top Seed--Rylee Beidleman, Modesto JC, 2:22.75. Clearly the top breaststroke swimmer in the state to date, Beidleman holds a 4-second lead over next fastest seed in Mesa's Fortune, but West Valley's Lucquet happens to be a third seed, which makes for a quality final.
Event #37: 200 butterfly: Top Seed--Risa Akatsu, Santa Monica, 2:08.72. The only top seed in three different events, Akatsu is a Women's Swimmer of the Year candidate and her 5.1 second faster time than next best Hartnell's Doughty has Risa in a great position to accomplish a 3-gold medal performance.
Event #39: 400 freestyle relay: Top Seed--Orange Coast, 3:38.32. Sierra and Cuesta will try to push the Pirates' here. OCC owns the top seed in four of the five relay races.
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCSIA/CCCAA State SID for Swim/Dive Championship