On a cold, windy and rainy day at the Ventura Aquatic Center, the water was just fine for the Pirates' men's and women's swimming and diving teams. Both squads placed a strong second in the four-team meet. Cooper Fuchs led the VC men with three individual golds while David Peterson and Raleigh Mendez each claimed two first place finishes. Katie Heath won both diving events for the women while Christina Adrianna Bese won the other individual gold for Ventura.
Bakersfield won the women's team contest with 174 points while the Pirates followed closely at 162. LA Valley and LA Pierce were a distant third and fourth. BC also claimed the top spot for the men with 173 points. VC was second with 129 followed by LA Valley with 107 and LA Pierce at 30.
Fuchs started his trifecta with a top finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a mark of 21.58. He also won the 100-yard freestyle (48.96) and the 200-yard backstroke (56.72). Peterson was first in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:53.33 and claimed gold in the 200-yard individual medley (2:10.04). He also came in second in the 100-yard butterfly. Mendez won both the 1m and 3m diving competitions and Anthony Amezcua won the 1650-yard freestyle event, finishing the distance event in 18:38.0.
VC's 200-yard medley relay team of Joseph Padilla, John Collins, Frank Lopez and Hunter Massey was third, as was the men's 800-yard freestyle relay team comprised of Amezcua, Julian Larios, Massey and Padilla. Ventura also won bronze n the 200-yard freestyle relay with Mendez, Lopez, Padilla and Amezcua.
Heath won both diving events for VC, the 1m and 3m heights, and also was third in the 200-yard individual medley. Bese won the Pirates' other individual gold in the 100-yard breast stroke with a mark of 1:15.34, and also came second in the 200-yard butterfly. Christina Jimenez was second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard free while Katia Flores picked up silver in the 200-yard IM and bronze in the 100-yard backstroke. Gracelyn De La Cruz was runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke and Kelsey Golden finished second in the 50-yard freestyle. Sarah Rundle was third in the 200-yard butterfly and Sabrina Cherfane finished third in the 1650-yard freestyle.
Ventura claimed gold in two relays, the 800-yard freestyle relay with Cherfane, Rabin Fallon, Tallulah Lund-Sidi and Jimenez (8:47.36), and the 200-yard freestyle relay with a team of Cherfane, Rundle, De La Cruz and Golden in 1:52.84. The 200-yard medley relay team of Flores, Bese, Rundle and Golden came in second.
The Pirates will next travel to the Cuesta Invitational in San Luis Obispo on Friday and Saturday March 9 and 10.