The OCC Invite was held this past weekend at the pool that will be the site of both the Orange-Empire Conference Finals and the California State Championships taking place in less than two weeks and four weeks respectively. With only OCC and GWC attending from the OEC, it was a chance for the Pirates and the Rustlers to race each other one more time before the more significant meets. OCC accumulated 900 points and GWC finished second overall with 691. Santa Monica (285), Grossmont (272) and Southwestern (258) were the next three teams in the overall standings.
Golden West took full advantage of the opportunity to swim multiple individual events and relays and came away satisfied after meeting the challenge of a tough two day format. The Meet Director assembled the meet to follow the order of the championship meets. The wrinkle was that Friday's list encompassed what normally is swum on Thursday and Friday all on that one day. Saturday matched up with the normal final day's events. Tracy Maurer, GWC's Head Coach, felt it was a great way to finish up the work the team has been putting in over the past few months. "We are in shape," he commented, "I was very pleased with how well we swam, especially on Saturday."
As has been the pattern all season, it was the depth of the Rustlers that contributed most to their point total. Golden West won only the final event, the 400 free relay, but it was the other finishes that helped the team stay close enough to the host school.
Tommy Kelly continued to amaze with his performances. He finished second in the three races, the 50 free (21.99), the 500 free (4:53.78) and the 100 free (47.08) all in season best times. He also had best times with fifth place finishes in the 100 fly and 100 breast.
Teammate Nolan Chomin was stellar in his 400 individual medley debut claiming a third place finish with a 4:22.03 effort that is in the top 15 in the State. He also came home fast in the 200 free to nab second (1:49.65).
Zach Bishop continued his development as a backstroker dropping three seconds to a 2:05.90 mark good for third place on Saturday. This was after six events on Friday including a very satisfying 500 free (5:05.18), an unusual event for the sprinter, which was good for fifth place overall.
Other top performances were recorded by sophomore John Limon who had a top five finish in the 200 back and then came back to put up a 2:02.42 in the 200 fly, his favorite event to become a strong possibility to go to State in that event. Joao Goncalves, a freshman, blazed to a 48.67 in the 100 free, also good for fifth in a very competitive race. Finally Cade Winston, a freshman from Sacramento, opted to swim the 1650 free for the first time ever and came in third overall (19:36.41).
Relays were another source of satisfaction as the Rustlers were third in the 200 free relay (1:30.03), second in the 400 medley relay (3:49.60), third in the 200 medley (1:43.56),and second in the 800 free relay with a 7:32.47 time. The foursome of Kyle Sary, Tommy Kelly, Joao Goncalves and Zach Bishop dropped three seconds to win the 400 free relay in a 3:12.56 effort.
Next swim action is back at OCC for the OEC Championships held April 18-20.
