Kwong and Diaz Win Titles and Break School Records During Second Day of WSC Championships
Allan Hancock College's Maddie Diaz and Dria Kwong broke their own school records on their way to individual titles during day two of the Western State Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Friday in Santa Maria. Hancock also broke two school records in the 200-yard medley and 800-yard freestyle relays.
With one day left of competition, Hancock sits in fourth place with 299 points, 24 points behind Cuesta and 63 behind second-place Ventura. Defending champion Santa Barbara City College has 424 points.
Diaz captured her first career conference title with a time of 4:56.08 in the 400-yard individual medley final. She broke her previous record by about two seconds. The Pioneer Valley High School graduate won the event by about 2.5 seconds. Diaz finished second in the 500-yard freestyle final on Thursday. She will compete in the 1,650-yard free final on Saturday.
Kwong defended her title in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.47 seconds. She topped her school record by about 1.5 seconds. The Orcutt Academy graduate has now won four career conference titles. She will defend her titles in the 200-meter butterfly and 200-yard backstroke events.
Hancock's Makena Blanco finished eighth in the 100-fly final with a personal-best time of 1:08.96 to earn 11 points for the Bulldogs. Diaz and Kwong each earned 20 points with their first-place finish.
Sophomore Rebecca Gonzalez came in second in the 100-yard breaststroke final with a time of 1:08.79 to capture another 17 points. She will swim in the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday.
Freshman Ellyn Clardy earned a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle final with a personal-best time of 2:07.05. Shannon Copeland came in 12th with a time of 2:12.44.
In the relays, the Bulldogs finished third in the 200-yard medley relay with a school record time of 1:55.57. Hancock closed the night with a record time of 8:27.11 in the 800-yard freestyle.
The Bulldogs are hosting the event at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center in Santa Maria. The three-day meet ends on Saturday with preliminary heats starting at 9:30 a.m. The evening finals will start at 4 p.m.