Eight men and 12 women from the Citrus aquatics swim team represented the college in the Western State Conference championship at Los Angeles Valley College.
The event was from April 20-22.
The Owls competed against nine men’s and 10 women’s teams in the conference.
Competitors who finished in the top eight were awarded medals.
On the men’s side, outstanding finishes from the competition included Jullian Nichols, who clinched second in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 47.87 seconds.
Head swim coach Jennifer Spalding said Nichols started swimming last year. She described his performance as incredible, especially in the time he finished.
After finishing, Nichols said he looked at the clock and stood in shock as his teammates screamed in joy.
“I am still trying to wrap my head around swimming that fast,” he said.
Nichols also finished fourth in the 200– and 50-meter freestyle events.
Nichols said he hasn’t been swimming his whole life and that swimming a 100-meter freestyle in 47 seconds is a big deal and a good achievement.
In last year’s conference championship, Nichols placed ninth in the 100 freestyle preliminaries and didn’t make it to the finals.
He credits Spalding, his coach, for helping him improve his techniques and for motivating and guiding him toward his achievement and goals.
The Owls men’s relay team (Rolan Solis, Gavin Tanner, Matteo Velasquez and Nichols) also placed eight in the 200-yard free event, finishing in 1 minute, 38.71 seconds.
On the women’s side, Andrea Hayler clinched fourth in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Other notable finishes are Charly Figueroa, who finished sixth and 10th in the 200 and 400 individual medley. She also finished seventh in the 200 breaststroke.
Delaney Latham finished eight in the 100 freestyle.
The women’s 200-yard free relay team (Sierra Beltran, Andrea Hayler, Delaney Latham and Genesis Moradel) also placed sixth with a time of 1 minute, 49.03 seconds.
Spalding said the athletes were tested and did a “fantastic” and “amazing job.”
“They worked hard this swim season, and it showed ‘cause they all dropped massive time,” she said. “All their hard work paid off the entire season.”
Spalding said that all of her athletes except for one are dual athletes. She said her athletes swim in the spring and play water polo in the fall.
She said this says a lot about who they are and their strength.
However, despite great performances, the Owls missed out on qualifying for the state championship.
Nichols, who placed top 20, was close to making it into the top 18 needed for the state championship. However, fell short by 0.67 seconds.
The Western State Conference championship marks the end of the season for the swimming Owls. They resume in January.
