Posted: Apr 20, 2017

Diaz Finishes Second and Stevens Sixth During Opening Day of WSC Championships

Maddie Diaz finished second and Meagan Stevens placed sixth in the women's 500-yard freestyle final, and the Allan Hancock College women's swimming team finished second in the 400-yard medley relay on the first evening of the Western State Conference Championships Thursday at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center.

The Hancock women are in fourth place after the first of three days of the finals with 152 points. They are six points behind third-place Cuesta and 13 points behind second-place Ventura. Defending champion Santa Barbara sits in first place with 242 points.

Diaz finished second in the 500 final with a time of 5:23.56, almost 10 seconds faster than her time in the preliminary heat. The sophomore earned 17 points for the team. Stevens, a freshman, finished sixth in 5:39.85 to earn another 13 points.

Makena Blanco finished fifth in the consolation final and 13^th overall in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:36.11 to earn three points for the Bulldogs.

Freshman Ellen Clardy won the 50-yard consolation final in 26.03 seconds to capture nine points for Hancock. She also broke the school record previously held by Leanna Bramble.

Meantime, Hancock finished second, about four seconds behind the winner, in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:12.08 to earn 34 points.

Hancock also finished eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay final with a time of 1:50.45 to earn 26 points.

Day two of the WSC Championships start at 9:30 a.m. with the preliminary heats in five events. The evening finals will begin at 5 p.m.