RUSTLERS COME THROUGH IN LATEST ORANGE-EMPIRE SWIM INVITATIONAL
March 22, 2024
GWC OUTPOINTS OCC FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS
The Golden West College Mens' Swim Team took full advantage of each of their swimmers in
Friday's second OEC swim invitational to edge the host Pirates 677-645. Riverside CC totaled
373 and Saddleback picked up 331 with Fullerton and Cypress rounding out the scoring.
Orange Coast College has won each of these meets since 2017 and although the Rustlers have
done well over the years, they have never had enough firepower to overtake the consistently
tough district rival.
The solid swims were abundant all day long. The 400 freestyle relay was the first event with the
dropping their best time by a second to 3:15.31. Kelly came back in the very next event, the
400 individual medley, to complete it in 4:24.56 to grab third with teammate Joao Goncalves
(4:44.16) picking up fourth.
Nolan Chomin, one of the top distance swimmers in the state, swam a blazing 4:42.38 500 free
and was out-touched by OCC's best, Brandon Samaniego by a scant eleven one-hundredths of
a second. Chomin's time was a seasonal best by ten seconds. The 100 fly saw Bishop (56.41)
and sophomore John Limon (57.07) go 3-4 overall. Kelly put together a third place finish in the
200 free going 1:47.88.
The 100 backstroke saw Bishop win the event in a time of 55.91. His teammates, Carrington
and sophomore Antonio Doria finished closely behind in third and fourth place. After the
women's 1650 free, the Rustlers went 2-3-4 in the 200 back with Chomin (2:02.80), freshmen
Goncalves and Jacob Stoddard (Westminster High) coming through for the team. The 200
breaststroke and 200 fly saw fourth place finishes by Vincent LaBonte and Limon.
In the final individual event of the day, the Rustlers took the lead it would not relinquish as a
result of a sweep in the 1650 freestyle. Led by Chomin who dropped 25 seconds (16:40.55)
and took the gold, Tommy Kelly, in his first ever mile, swam a very respectable 17:21.22 for the
runner-up spot and LaBonte passed three swimmers in the last 400 yards to nab bronze.
The final event, the 400 medley relay had the Rustlers finish off the day in remarkable fashion
by dropping three seconds and coming in second overall. The foursome of Goncalves, Kelly,
Bishop and Sary completed the race in a solid 3:43.54.
Head Coach Tracy Maurer was pleasantly surprised with the result. "We knew we had more
swimmers entered than Orange Coast but we did not have our full team yet that did not deter
our group today. Many of our team's members are from the State Championship water polo
team. They are great athletes who are rapidly gaining the skills and experience to be
formidable opponents," said Maurer. When questioned whether this makes the Rustlers the
favorite for the conference title to be decided in four weeks, Maurer had no firm prediction. He
only stated, "Conference will be interesting. We plan on showing up."