Future-Minded Vaqueros Finish 4th at Cuesta Invitational
By Jimmy Friery
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Swimming & Diving team finished 4th at the 46th Cuesta Invitational this weekend with 375 points.
It is the first non-1st place finish for the Vaqueros, who did not compete on Saturday, comprising 12 events. By the end of the day Friday, the Vaqueros were naturally in 1st place.
"Our team is really tired, and we are still finding ways to rise to the occasion," head coach Chuckie Roth said.
The weekend began business as usual, with Caroline Oates and Addie Lane finishing 2nd and 3rd in the opening 1650 Free. Next, the Vaqueros 200 Free Relay team of Erin Otsuki, Maddie Myers, Oates, and Lily Carrick finished a second ahead of Mt. San Antonio for 1st place.
Otsuki then etched her name in the SBCC record books a couple times. In the 200 Back, Otsuki swam a 2:11.30, beating her own time last week for 2nd in the Vaqueros all-time marks. After that, she was timed at 27.95 in the 50 Fly, beating Lila Waechter's program record set last week, as well.
In between those events, Carrick and Myers took home 1st and 3rd in the 100 Free, respectively. Later, Carrick finished in 1st in the 200 IM—her time of 2:13.15 is now 3rd in school history.
Rounding out the Vaqueros' swim performance, the dynamic four of Otsuki, Myers, Carrick, and Oates won the 800 Free Relay by 20 seconds.
"We are a very competitive team, so everyone gives it their all when we race and it showed," Lily Carrick said. "We had a really great meet, swam fast and face some adversity."
Lily Carrick once again had the most points of any Vaquero with 40, swimming to 1st place in all 4 of her events, including 2 relays. Erin Otsuki (34 points) was on both of those relays and had 2nd place finishes in her 2 individual events. Caroline Oates was 3rd for the Vaqueros with 31 points, and Tayten Neiderhiser and Lila Waechter were just behind her with 29 points apiece.
Diving finished the day, and Morgan Cederholm came in 4th with a score of 181.90. Ceci Carrano, who started the year with a pair of 1st place finishes, scored 155.55.
"I am particularly impressed with our divers," Roth said. "They are a big part of our team's success."
"I'm truly fortunate to have teammates who are incredibly supportive," Morgan Cederholm said. "Their encouragement and collaborative spirit are unparalleled, and I've never been part of a team that's so committed to each other's success. We lift each other up, and that positive energy really drives us to achieve amazing things together."
Spending any time around the Aquatics program, their culture and collaborative spirit, like Cederholm mentioned, is truly unparalleled. No wonder they have achieved so much recent success, with more on the horizon.
The Vaqueros did not compete on Saturday, yet still had a 4th place finish thanks to the strong Friday performances. SBCC will use the extra day of rest into WSC #2 at the Ventura Aquatic Center next Saturday.
1st place finishes:
200 Free Relay – Erin Otsuki-Maddie Myers-Caroline Oates-Lily Carrick (1:42.29)
100 Free – Lily Carrick (54.45)
200 IM – Lily Carrick (2:13.15, 3rd in program history)
800 Free Relay – Erin Otsuki-Maddie Myers-Lily Carrick-Caroline Oates (8:06.21)
2nd place finishes:
1650 Free – Caroline Oates (18:43.66)
200 Back – Erin Otsuki (2:11.30, 2nd in program history)
50 Fly – Erin Otsuki (27.95, program record)
3rd place finishes:
1650 Free – Addie Lane (19:09.63)
100 Free – Maddie Myers (55.59)
Team scores:
1. West Valley (577)
2. American River (542)
3. Mt. San Antonio (453)
4. SBCC (375)
5. Santa Monica (363.5)
6. Allan Hancock (355.5)
7. Fresno (275)
8. CC of San Francisco (259.5)
9. Sequoias (171)
10. Clovis (165)
11. Merced (161)
12. Cypress (147)
13. Las Positas (142)
14. Hartnell (110)
15. Cuesta (73.5)
16. Bakersfield (37)
17. Cerritos (29)
18. Canyons (1)