M Swim: Finish Second at Orange Empire Conference Championships

Riverside, Calif. -  It was the final day of the 2018 Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Swimming & Diving Championships hosted at Riverside City College. In another day packed with record-breaking showings, it was the Orange Coast College Pirates who stole the show and the title on both sides. The men placed first after accumulating a whopping 935.5 points, while the women were equally as dominant by amassing 853 total points to haul in the conference title. Upon the Pirates titles, Head Coach Anthony Iacopella was named the OEC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year.

On the men's side, Golden West placed second with a points total of 684, while Riverside hauled in the bronze with a total of 553 points. Riverside's women earned a second-place finish after tallying 533 points, while Saddleback earned third place by recording 488 points.

Three more records were broken by the Pirates to bring their total to eight as a team. For the men, Hayden Hemmens broke his third record of the meet by earning the top time in the 200 Back with a clip reading 1:47.76. The men continued on to break the 200 Free Relay by approximately one second with a team mark of 2:59.77. For the women, Kylie McCormick snapped the 200 Breaststroke record by touching the wall with a time of 2:26.56.

Hemmens was named OEC Co-Male Swimmer of the Meet after he cracked three records and stood atop the podium in each event. He shared the crown with Golden West's Santiago Rivera who broke the record in the 200 Breastroke with a time of 2:02.86. He, too, did not place lower than first in the three individual events he swam.

Orange Coast's Reece Hemmens was crown the champion in the 100 Free with a clip of 44.73. Diego Pabalan earned a set of silver medals beginning with a 200 Back time of 1:51.82. He continued on to earn a time of 1:51.53 in the 200 Fly. Donny Haden earned a second-place finish in the 100 Free with a time of 45.09.

Golden West's Jacob Thompson earned the crown in the 1650 Free with a time of 16:39.23, while Alec Niederland placed second in the 100 Free with a mark of 46.60. Miles Dunn added a silver medal in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:04.24. Riverside was paced by Javier Bernal's gold medal finish in the 200 Fly with a time of 1:51.44. Farouk Zaoui finished in third place with a time of 1:56.32 in the 200 Fly as well.  

For the women, Orange Coast's Cheyanne Morris and Lauren Weins were named OEC Co-Swimmers of the Meet following outstanding performances. Weins earned a trio of first-place finishes in the meet. She finished tops in the 200 Back today with a time of 2:06.51. Morris competed in four events and earned three first-place marks and one second-place mark. She reigned supreme in the 1650 Free today with a time of 18:09.51.

Riverside's Nikkol Webber earned a first-place finish in the 200 Breaststroke with a clip of 2:49.91, while Caelan Loroff earned a fifth place finish in the 1650 Free with a clip of 19:25.84. Saddleback's Kailey Banayat placed top-three in all of her events with a third place showing coming in the 200 Back with a time of 2:14.49. Maddie Choi earned the silver in the 200 Breaststroke with a clip of 2:56.03. Amber Theders rounds out the top times for the Gauchos by coming in third place in the 1650 Free with a time of 18:30.62.

Cole Gerard from Orange Coast and Jeff Brukh from Saddleback where named the OEC CO-Divers of the Meet, while Alejandra Gomez from Cypress' Alejandra Gomez was named OEC Women's Diver of the Year.

Final Order of Finish

Men

Orange Coast – 935.5

Golden West – 684

Riverside – 526.5

Saddleback – 395

Cypress – 280.5

Fullerton – 59

Santa Ana – 0

Women

Orange Coast – 853

Riverside – 533

Saddleback – 488

Golden West – 346

Cypress – 296

Fullerton – 292

Santa Ana – 12

Awards

Swimmers of the Meet (Men, Co-Swimmers)

Hayden Hemmens, OCC

Santiago Rivera, GWC

Swimmers of the Meet (Women, Co-Swimmers)

Cheyanne Morris, OCC

Lauren Weins, OCC

Divers of the Meet (Men, Co-Divers)

Cole Gerard, OCC

Jeff Rebrukh, Saddleback

Diver of the Meet (Women)

Alejandra Gomez, Cypress

Coach of the Year, Men

Anthony Iacopetti, OCC

Coach of the Year, Women

Anthony Iacopetti, OCC