Humann wins 500 free; Vaqueros grab first-day lead in WSC Championships

Alex Humann won a WSC title in the 500 freestyle on Thursday and SBCC took a 77-point lead after Day 1 of the WSC Swim & Dive Championships at Paul Nelson Pool in Santa Maria.

Humann, a sophomore from San Francisco, captured the first individual event in a season-best 5:19.80, beating Maddie Diaz of Hancock by nearly four seconds. That's the No. 3 time in SBCC history. Halie Johnson was fifth in a personal-best 5:35.23 and Reagan Mroz finished 13th in 5:57.83, dropping more than 20 seconds off her season best.

SBCC, which is seeking a third straight WSC women's title, racked up 242 points on the first of three days. Ventura is second at 165, followed closely by Cuesta (158) and Hancock (152).

The Vaqueros took second in the meet-opening 200 free relay in 1:40.60, losing to Cuesta by just 16-hundredths of a second. Anna Manfreda, Mackenzie Richards, Addison Seale and Reese Ellestad produced the No. 2 mark in school history.

"We had a good first day," said coach Chuckie Roth. "Humann's 500 free was great, Johnson took fifth and Mroz swam amazingly well. She earned valuable points for our team."

Seale was second in the 200 IM with a top-10 time in the state of 2:13.12. Serafina Chavez (2:27.35) took seventh and Manfreda ninth (2:26.58), both in season-best times. Lili Talkin was 15th and shaved eight seconds off her season best with a 2:39.82 clocking.

Ellestad was second in the 50 free in a spectacular finish of 24.84, losing by just one-hundredth of a second to Cuesta's Torie White (25.83). Ellestad's time is the third-best in SBCC history, missing the No. 1 mark by 18-hundredths. Richards was sixth (25.69) for the Vaqueros and Kate Winters took 15th in a career-best 27.37.

"I was so happy for Reese," said Roth. "I promised her she would go 24 seconds in the 50 free and it was great to see her accomplish that milestone. I'm very proud of her."

The Vaqueros' 400 medley relay had the fastest seed time of 4:19.18 but was disqualified in the last event of the day. SBCC's B team of Manfreda, Talkin, Winters and Johnson took seventh in 4:37.54 and earned 24 points. Cuesta won the race in a fasat time of 4:07.69.

"That was a bummer way to end the day," said Roth. "We were disqualified for a false start on one of the relay legs. A real bummer. We swam a good race but this is athletics and there is a lot to be learned from disappointment.

"Sure, we are bummed but we are focusing on tomorrow and swimming well in prelims, so we can set ourselves up for another great night of best times."

Day 2 of the WSC Championships will take place on Friday with the prelims at 9:30 a.m. and the finals at 5 p.m.