Posted: Apr 07, 2017

ELAC swim—29 PRs in penultimate meet

PASADENA, CA — The East Los Angeles College Huskies, fresh from their fourth-place dual meet team finish in the South Coast Conference with their best record in more than two decades, finished with 29 personal records in Pasadena City College Invitational.

The Huskies won the 800-meter freestyle relay consolation finals, the final event. Their win against Cypress College, who took fourth in the event, gave the Huskies a Top-10 finish, 10th place in the 21-team meet. Cypress placed 11th, two points behind ELAC.

ELAC competed without two of its top athletes, freshman Elsie Morales and freshman diver Kristine Ordonez. Ordonez is out for the season.

Sophomore Irene Young, finished with her best results of the season. She scored the most individual points for the Huskies and swam to five personal records in five events.

Young placed eighth in the championship finals of the 200-yard individual medley. She placed fourth in the consolation finals in each of the 200-yard and 100-yard backstroke events. Young placed fifth in the consolation finals of the 100-yard breaststroke.

The Huskies are peaking at the end of the season. Freshman Dominique Gustellum had five personal records and knocked off 12 seconds in the 200-yard backstroke. Freshmen Justine Salcedo and Stacia Yeung each had four personal records.

Huskies with three personal records came from freshmen, Sophia Gonzalez, Jessenia Barberena and Isabel Pineda. Sophomore Lesley Perez and freshman Ionee Pineda recorded two personal records and freshman Crystal Rubalcava had one.

Freshman Sophia Gonzalez, one of the most diverse swimmers in the state, placed in both the 50-yard freestyle sprint, the shortest of the meet and the long distance 1650-yard free, the longest race of the competition.

Gonzalez placed second in the consolation finals of the 1650 free and placed 21st out of 90 women in the 50 free. She swam a personal record in the 1650, almost a minute faster than her previous season best.

Gonzalez took second place in the consolation finals in the 100 free with a season-best time and third place in the consolation finals of the 500-yard free with a personal record of more than 11 seconds off her previous fastest time.

ELAC scored most of its points, 66, in the relays and scored in each of the five events.

The Huskies compete in their final meet of the season, the South Coast Conference Swim & Dive Championships, Thursday through Saturday, April 20-22 at Mt. San Antonio College.

Other ELAC Top Results:

50-yard free –Rubalcava (39th place out of 90), Salcedo (49th)

100 back – Barberena (18th place out of 73)

100 breaststroke – Yeung (20th)

100 butterfly – Rubalcava (28th)

100 free – Young (46th of 109 women)

200 back – Barberena (25th)

200 breast –Yeung (20th)

200 fly – Rubalcava (22nd)

200 free – Barberena (24th out of 74)

200 yard individual medley – Yeung (29th)

200 free relay – Rubalcava, Barberena, Yeung, Gonzalez (8th in consolation finals)

200 medley relay – Barberena, Young, Rubalcava, Yeung (8th in consolation finals)

400 free relay – Young, Barberena, Rubalcava, Gonzalez (3rd in consolation finals)

400 medley relay – Young, Yeung, Rubalcava, Gonzalez (1st in consolation finals)

500-yard free –Salcedo (30th)

800-free relay – Gonzalez, Young, Barberena, Salcedo (6th place)

1650 free – Freshman Justine Salcedo (17th)

submitted by Tadzio Garcia