Posted: Apr 22, 2023
Turning in their best finish since 2016, the Cerritos College men's swimming team finished in third place at the South Coast Conference Championships, which took place at East Los Angeles College. The Falcons finished the three-day event with 467 team points and held off fourth place El Camino College, who had 457 points.
Day 1 - On the first day of the SCC Championships, the Falcons were sitting in fourth place with 122 team points. They recorded a pair of fourth place finishes in the relay races. In the 200-yard freestyle, the quartet of Richard Montanez (Baldwin Park HS), Abimael Anorve (Mira Costa HS), Sebastian Rico (Montebello HS) and Axel Pedroza (California HS) turned in a time of 1:35.56, with the foursome of Kobe Hurtado (Cerritos HS), Pedroza, Silvestre Chavez (Downey HS) and Anorve touched up in 3:47.89.
The 200-yard IM saw Chavez move into sixth place on the school's all-time list with his time of 2:02.14, which put him in sixth place in the race. The 500-yard freestyle saw Anorve (5:15.99) and Montanez (5:23.34) come in seventh and eighth places, respectively.
Day 2 - The first event of the second day - the 200-yard medley relay - showed the Falcons coming in fourth place with a time of 1:42.83. That team was comprised of Hurtado, Pedroza, Chavez and Rico. Chavez also earned big points for Cerritos with his third place finish in the 400-yard IM, as he was clocked in 4:20.40. It marked the third fastest time in school history. Also competing in the event and coming in sixth place was Daniel Benitez (Paramount HS), who posted a sixth place time of 4:54.62. Swimming in one of his strongest events, Hurtado was in a battle for first place in the 100-yard butterfly, but had to settle for third place with his time of 51.71, while Montanez turned in a fifth place finish in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:54.17, while Anorve was right behind in sixth place at 1:54.32.
Pedroza earned a sixth place medal in the 100-yard breaststroke when he turned in a time of 1:03.30, and Anorve was the seventh place finisher in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 59.70.
The day concluded with Chavez, Anorve, Montanez and Hurtado recording a third place time of 7:28.56 in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team also moved into third place with 338 team points.
Day 3 - The third and final day opened with Montanez recording a sixth place time of 18:40.46 in the 1650-yard freestyle, while Chavez (2:07.96) and Dominic Hernandez (Schurr HS) in 2:13.98 finishing in sixth and seventh places, respectively in the 200-yard backstroke. The time by Chavez put him in seventh place on the school's all-time list. The 200-yard breaststroke saw Pedroza turn in a sixth place performance with a time of 2:25.82, while Benitez finished in eighth place at 2:29.06.
The best finish of the day came in the 200-yard butterfly with Hurtado posting a time of 2:00.47, which was five seconds off the winning time, which put him in second place. It was also a personal best and improved his fourth best time in school history. The Falcons locked down third place in the championships with their fourth place performance in the 400-yard freestyle, as the quartet of Chavez, Pedroza, Montanez and Hurtado recorded a time of 3:22.47.
