Vaqueros Win Orange Coast Invitational
By Jimmy Friery
COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Swimming & Diving team competed at the Orange Coast College (OCC) Invitational on Friday, placing first (607.5 points) of nine teams.
The meet started with a very close second-place finish in the 200 Free Relay. The Vaqueros' 1:40.61 was just .26 behind Orange Coast. Later, in the next relay, the Vaqueros got redemption as Leah Rummelhoff's 55.62 final split in the 400 Medley gave the team a comeback victory, just .05 ahead of Orange Coast.
The final relay Santa Barbara competed in was the 200 Medley. Sienna Barelli, Jada Ashen, Katie Strohl, and Pamela Hernandez placed third, clocking in at 2:03.49.
May Guidoux was the first Vaquero to find the podium in an individual event. After a personal best to earn third in the 200 IM (2:18.35), she won the 200 Free (1:59.77) with four seconds to spare and then finished second in the next event, the 100 Breast (1:08.81).
Rummelhoff's 400 Medley split was crucial to the overall win, but she also got the team points by her second-place 24.73 in the 50 Free.
Trinity Link won both the 100 Fly (58.45) and 100 IM (1:00.62)—the latter with three seconds to spare—and settled for a rare second-place time in the 100 Free (54.43).
A member of the winning 400 Medley Relay team, Makena Quinones also placed third in the 200 Back (2:21.06). Zoe McGehee rounded out the Vaqueros' podium finishers with a 5:30.05 time in the 400 IM.
The biggest improved time on the day also belonged to Santa Barbara. In the 200 Medley Relay, Jaeda Allen's 50 Back split of 28.49 was 14.4 percent (4.81 seconds) off her previous time.
Next up for the Vaqueros is the So Cal Diving Championships next weekend, and then the Western State Conference (WSC) Championship beginning Thursday, April 16 at Los Angeles Valley College.
1st place finishes:
400 Medley Relay – Makena Quinones-May Guidoux-Trinity Link-Leah Rummelhoff (4:09.37)
100 Fly – Trinity Link (58.45)
200 Free – May Guidoux (1:59.77)
100 IM – Trinity Link (1:00.62)
2nd place finishes:
200 Free Relay – Trinity Link-Katie Strohl-May Guidoux-Leah Rummelhoff (1:40.61)
50 Free – Leah Rummelhoff (24.73)
100 Breast – May Guidoux (1:08.81)
100 Free – Trinity Link (54.43)
3rd place finishes:
200 IM – May Guidoux (2:18.35)
200 Medley Relay – Sienna Barelli-Jada Ashen-Katie Strohl-Pamela Hernandez (2:03.49)
400 IM – Zoe McGehee (5:30.05)
200 Back – Makena Quinones (2:21.06)