Alyssa Hamilton Leads Cougars in Pool at WSC No. 2
By Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information
VALLEY GLEN — College of the Canyons participated in its second Western State Conference (WSC) event on Saturday, with the men's team taking seventh and the women placing ninth at the meet hosted by L.A. Valley College.
COC freshman Alyssa Hamilton led the women's side claiming a spot in the top-10 in each of her individual events, earning a spotlight as the college's women's Student-Athlete of the Week.
Hamilton raced to hit the second-place spot in the 200-yard freestyle (2:05.83) in a field of 27 other swimmers. She then went on to take fifth place in the 50-yard freestyle (26.45) and seventh in the field of 31 in the 100-yard freestyle (57.79).
The women's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Ella Pratt, Isabella Robles-Lahr, Shea Zapolsky and Hamilton worked for a ninth-place finish (4:19.13) in a field of 16 teams.
Zapolsky also represented Canyons in the 200-yard backstroke (2:42.53) and took 13th out of 22 racers.
On the men's side, the team of Christian Cruz, Martin Wise, Keanu Pence and Ahmed Abdelsalam swam to a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (4:03.27).
Cruz went on to take sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:26.17) and seventh in the 50-yard freestyle (23.54), where he was immediately followed by Abdelsalam (23.61) in eighth.
Abdelsalam then muscled through to a sixth-place finish out 30 swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle.
Representing the Cougars in the 200-yard breaststroke, Wise commanded a fifth-place finish (2:33.68), before leading off the 400-yard freestyle relay team ahead of Cruz, Evan Young and Abdelsalam. The team worked for a seventh-place finish (3:44.48) out of 15 to close the day out for the Cougars.
Full event results from WSC Meet No. 2 can be found here.
Top Performers
- Alyssa Hamilton – 2nd place, 200-yard freestyle (2:05.83); 5th place, 50-yard freestyle (26.45); 7th place, 100-yard freestyle (57.79
- Christian Cruz – 6th place, 500-yard freestyle (5:26.17); 7th place, 50-yard freestyle (23.54)
- Ahmed Abdelsalam – 6th place, 100-yard freestyle (51.75); 8th place, 50-yard freestyle (23.61)
- Martin Wise – 5th place, 200-yard breaststroke (2:33.68)
- 400-yard medley relay – The combination of Christian Cruz, Martin Wise, Keanu Pence and Ahmed Abdelsalam posted a time of 4:03.27 to place third
Upcoming Schedule
Canyons will have two weeks off from competition before hosting WSC Meet No. 3 on Friday March 31, at thew Cougar Natatorium. Events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.