Photos Courtesy of Abe Photography / SC Jaguars
By Alexa Lima
There is no place like home for the Southwestern College swim team which smashed 11 school records at the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championships held in the new aquatic center.
Better still, they had a quartette of champions.
Kiana Henriquez won first place in the Women’s 400-Yard Individual Medley in 5:00.06. She also broke the SC record in the Women’s 100-Yard Butterfly clocking a 1:03.75.
“This is my last year competing so my mindset is to have fun and enjoy it,” she said. “I love feeling like a mermaid in the water.”
Mayra Lobato won the PCAC championship in the Women’s 200-Yard Backstroke in 2:15.25.
“I am very thrilled that I won,” she said. “There are some great swimmers here today, so winning is very cool.”
SC’s men’s team broke 10 school records and took home two PCAC championships. Luis Serrano led the way with a PCAC title in the Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke in the record time of 2:01.88. He also broke his own college record in the Men’s 100-Yard Backstroke clocking 55.78 seconds.
Serrano said he was pleased with his performance and proud of his teammates.
“I am content with my results,” he said. “We achieved what we were training for.”
Emilio Rujana brought home a PCAC championship in the Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle. He won in the record time of 46.31 seconds.
“After three years of not swimming, I am very happy with my achievement but never satisfied,” he said. “I want to continue to improve.”
Rujana, Luis Serrano, Ethan Hastings and Alejandro Serrano shattered the college record in the Men’s 400-Yard Freestyle Relay. They shaved nearly 10 seconds off the previous record when they turned in a time of 3:18.97.
The same four swimmers also broke the college record in the 200-Yard Free Style Relay with a time of 1:31.07.
Alejandro Serrano set a new record in the Men’s 200-Yard Individual Medley by touching in at 2:04.61. He joined Luis Serrano, Hanson Gallegos and Rujana to set a new record in the Men’s 400-Yard Medley Relay with a time of 3:53.92.
A record fell in the Men’s 200-Yard Medley Relay thanks to Luis Serrano, Rujana, Hastings and Jake Osthimer. Alejandro Serrano’s 4:23.99 in the Men’s 400-Yard Individual Medley was yet another new SC record.
Rujana shaved more than two seconds off the school record in the Men’s 100-Yard Butterfly and Luis Serrano broke his own record in the Men’s 100-Yard Backstroke.
Matt Ustaszewski, head coach for the Swim and Dive Team for 20 years, said he was was pleased with his crew.
“Our student-athletes did an amazing job and we are very proud of their performances,” he said. “They were dedicated and focused on swimming to the best of their abilities. It was great to see them achieve their goals and compete at such a high level.”
Overall both teams took fourth place at the PCAC Championship meet. SC men scored 426 points, the women 264 points.
Photo Courtesy of Abe Photography