Kwong and Diaz Win Two Events Each, Hancock Swimmers Finish Second at WSC Meet

March 31, 2017

Sophomores Maddie Diaz and Dria Kwong won two events apiece to lead the Allan Hancock College women's swimming team to a second-place finish during the third Western State Conference meet of the season Friday. Three more swimmers earned second-place finishes for Hancock, which hosted Bakersfield, Cuesta, Ventura and defending conference champion Santa Barbara at Paul Nelson Aquatic Center.

Hancock finished with 93 total points, one more than third-place Cuesta. Ventura finished fourth with 88 points and Bakersfield fifth with 54 points. SBCC won the meet with 125 total points.

Diaz started the day by taking the women's 1,000-yard freestyle event with a season-best time of 11:31.62. She won by a 67-second margin. The Pioneer Valley High School graduate later won the 500 free when she finished in 5:32.08.

Kwong, an Orcutt Academy graduate, took first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:15.59, her fastest time of the season in the event. She won by nearly 12 seconds. The sophomore also won the 200-yard butterfly when she was clocked in 2:17.45. She bested her previous season-best time by six seconds. Makenna Blanco finished fifth in the 200 fly with a season-best tie of 2:45.62 to secure four points.

Freshman Ellen Clardy finished second in the 200-yard freestyle event with a time of 2:11.40 to secure five points for Hancock. Shannon Copeland finished sixth in 2:13.53 to earn another three points for the Bulldogs. Copeland also placed sixth in the 200 backstroke to secure three more points.

Meagan Stevens came in second in the 400-yard individual medley with a season-best time of 5:17.12. The freshman earned seven points for Hancock's team score in that event. The Cabrillo graduate racked up four more with a fifth-place finish in the 500 free.

Sophomore Rebecca Gonzalez finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:36.03.

Stevens, Gonzalez, Kwong and Clardy teamed up to finish second in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:20.24, 1.06 seconds from a first-place finish.

The Bulldogs will return to action Saturday, April 8, at an invitational hosted by Chabot College.