Canyons Swim Finishes 8th/9th at Pasadena Invitational

College of the Canyons took to the pool for the 17th Annual Pasadena Invitational held April 7-8 as part of a field of 408 swimmers representing 22 schools from across the state.

As a team, Canyons finished eighth on the men's side while the women's team ended the meet in ninth place. Jennifer Yamauchi represented the Cougars well, with a first place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.

Yamauchi's time of 2:15.71 bested the field of 44 swimmers by nearly three seconds, and was nearly two seconds faster than her seed time (2:17.89). The freshman had a busy two days on the deck, finishing sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:05.83) and ninth in the 400y individual medley (5:17.17), while also swimming as a part of several relay teams. 

COC's best relay performance came in the form of a sixth place time of 1:49.47 in the 200-yard freestyle relay posted by Antoinette Peterson, Jordan Arceneaux, Yamauchi and Brooke Coffey.

Later, the 400-yard medley relay team of Yamauchi, Coffey, Peterson and Arceneaux placed seventh at 4:37.61.

COC freshman Jessie Kim was the top swimmer for the men's team.

His time of 53.72 in the 100-yard backstroke was good for third place. Kim also posted a time of 2:04.55 in the 200-yard backstroke to earn fourth place honors. Kim was sixth in the 200-yard individual medley at a pace of 2:02.09. 

Canyons will now have an off week before hitting the water for the Western State Conference (WSC) Finals April 21-23 in Santa Maria.

COC has fared well in conference competition this season. The men's team has finished third in all three conference meets. Meanwhile, the women's team is coming off a second place finish at the most recent WSC event held March 31.