VC sophomore swimmer Cooper Fuchs claimed the silver medal in the 100-yard backstroke Friday, highlighting the second day of competition for the Ventura College men's and women's swimming and diving teams at the CCCAA State Championships at De Anza College in Cupertino. Fuchs touched in 51.03, less than half a second off the gold medal pace. Meanwhile Marcel Hurtubise also earned individual points for the Pirate men while Adrianna Bese, Alli Hopkins and Gracelyn De La Cruz earned individual points for the VC women.
For Fuchs, it was his second individual medal of the championships, on the heels of his bronze medal performance in the 50-yard freestyle. Additionally, he was a part of the Pirates' 200-yard medley relay team, along with Kevin Smallwood, Hurtubise and Tobias Hynes, which finished sixth in the finals Friday evening.
Hurtubise came in 16th in the 100-yard butterfly, earning his way into the final in preliminary races Friday morning.
Finally for the men, the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Hunter Massey, Jake Peters, Garrett Gallagher and Ethan Enquist came in 13th place in the finals competition.
Bese, a sophomore, touched in seventh place in the 100-yard breast stroke while Hopkins came in 11th in the 100-yard butterfly. De La Cruz also earned individual points, finishing in 13th place in the 100-yard backstroke.
VC's 200-yard medley relay team of De La Cruz, Bese, Hopkins and Kaitlin Reagan earned a seventh-place finish.
The Ventura men were in 10th place of the 39 participating teams following Friday's competition with 94 points. Sierra leads the men's title chase with 360 points followed by Diablo Valley (330) and Mt. San Antonio.
Orange Coast is running away with the women's competition totaling 398 points, chased by San Diego Mesa (236) and Diablo Valley (226). The Pirates sit in 11th place of the 41 competing teams with 97 points.
The third and final day of the state championships is Saturday May 4 in Cupertino.