The 2024 men's swim season is under way and the first Orange Empire Conference contest is in the books. Orange Coast defeated rival Golden West with Riverside City and Saddleback lurking.
OCC is no stranger to swimming success as the Pirates finished second in the state last season and have captured five state titles since 2006. OCC would love to get back to the top of the heap in 2024 and had a good start with the opening OEC meet at Saddleback last Friday.
Orange Coast scored 682 points in winning by a decent margin over inter-district rival Golden West (568). The race for third was as close as could be as Riverside City and Saddleback finished in a tie for third.
Orange Coast had eight wins on the day, including three each from Gideon Stemmons and Christian Perez. Stemmons was a winner in the 50 Freestyle (21.30), 100 Freestyle (46.49) and 100 Backstroke (53.96) while Perez won the 100 Breaststroke (57.47), 200 Breaststroke (2:06.19) and 200 Individual Medley (1:58.02). Brandon Samaniego won the 500 Freestyle (4:53.23) for the Pirates while Kevin Li was a winner in the 200 Fly (1:58.62). In total, Orange Coast had 29 finishes in the top-5 in a show of force.
Golden West had some dazzling performances, winning a total of three individual events. Thomas Kelly was the headliner, winning both the 200 Freestyle (1:48.48) and 200 Backstroke (2:03.27). Nolan Chomin also picked up a win when he touched the pad at 17:05.03 in the 1,650 Freestyle. Golden West had the largest contingent of athletes for the event with 26 listed on the roster. The Rustlers finished with 14 finishes in the top-5.
Riverside City and Saddleback were dead even for the event. The Tigers and Bobcats had one win apiece for the week as RCC's Zekiah Serrano captured a win in the 100 Fly (51.11) while Saddleback's Kevin Perow won the 1-meter dive (149.1) on Thursday.
OEC FINAL STANDINGS @ Saddleback
Orange Coast - 682
Golden West - 568
Riverside City - 400
Saddleback - 400
Cypress - 17
Fullerton - 7
Release by Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback