The Pasadena City College men's swim team completed the dual meet portion of the 2023 schedule with an impressive eight event victories in splitting a double dual, defeating Rio Hondo, 156-27, and losing to host Cerritos, 157-104, on Mar. 31.
Sam Regan and Maxwell Ribaya each won three events. The sophomore Regan scored first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.45), 500 freestyle (5:10.82) and 1,000 freestyle (10:43.34), while Ribaya's wins were in the 100 freestyle (49.97), 100 backstroke (55.93), and 100 butterfly (53.74).
The Lancers also scored victories in the 50 freestyle by Joseph Ng (24.21) and in the 200 backstroke by Collin Chong (2:44.98). Javier Becerra was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.39). Hazem Ahmed was third in the 200 backstroke (2:46.57).
Coach Terry Stoddard was excited about how his team swam. While the Lancers were 2-4 overall in the dual SCC season, team scoring didn't take away from how well a number of swimmers have performed.
"Sam stepped into a gap in our program by swimming last year and returning with true grit this year," Stoddard said. "Max wins were huge, the last of which was against a formidable opponent in the 100 fly! He is learning how to best handle the sprints. Joseph was a welcome winner in the 50 free, and it was great to have him back from an injury that kept him from competing until the halfway mark of the season. Javier's breaststroke races are gathering momentum in time for the SCC championships."
PCC participates in the ELAC/Pasadena Invitational April 7-8 at East Los Angeles College. The South Coast Conference Championships follow on April 20-22, also at ELAC's Swim Stadium.
