Giants' women, men roll to CVC swimming and diving titles

By Nick Giannandrea

COS ATHLETICS

Behind multiple record-breaking performances from Jillian Lambert and Joshy Peters, College of the Sequoias swept the Central Valley Conference men's and women's swimming and diving championships.

Lambert (Golden West High) and Peters (Redwood) each were part of three school records while placing first in four events individually and powering four winning relay teams to earn Female and Male Swimmer of the Meet honors, respectively, during an event held April 21-23 at Merced College.

Lambert helped the Giants' women score 1,764 points, outpacing Merced (1,560), Clovis (505) and Shasta (221) for the CVC title.

Peters led Sequoias' men to 1,431 points, well ahead of Merced (1,175.5), Shasta (716), Fresno City (676.5) and Clovis (85).

"I'm so impressed with the perseverance of this group," Giants coach Ally Briano said. "They hung in there through Covid and hell or high water. There were so many restrictions placed on their training and so many things they had to go through. But our team has stayed large and stayed strong. It's a real testament to their endurance throughout Covid.

"They took a situation where other kids gave up, and these kids worked harder. They put more time in the pool, more time in the weight room. It was crazy insane how good they did."

Lambert sped to school records in the 50 breast (31.7 seconds) and the 100 breast (1:08.53), eclipsing the marks of 31.8 and 1:09.33 set by Roshell Speeds in 1997.

Lambert also won the 50 free (25.07), 100 free (53.56) and was a member of the first-place 200 free (1:45.17), 400 free (3:53.46), 200 medley (1:58.15) and 400 medley (1:58.0) relay teams.

Her 100 free time is currently ranked No. 3 among all community college swimmers in the state.

"Jillian has been hovering at the same fast sprint times for a year, and she's been dying to drop time," said Briano, who was named the CVC's Coach of the Year. "Over the weekend, she was hyped. She knew this was the moment. She got into the right mindset. She's extremely competitive. There was a girl who was really gunning to beat her, and it didn't happen."

The 200 free relay broke the school record of 1:45.86 set in 2021 by Audrey Bradford, Alyssa Bodoh, Alex Salazar and Anna Nippoldt.

Joining Lambert on the 200 and 400 free teams were Sofia Mora (Redwood), Alex Salazar (Redwood) and Eva McIlwaine (Hanford West), while the 200 and 400 medley relays also featured McIlwaine, Mora and Jennifer Sanchez (Tulare Western).

Salazar, Sanchez, Jessica Catalano (El Diamante) and McIlwaine helped the Giants sweep the five relays by winning the 800 free in 7:39.56.

Women's school records were also set by Mora, McIlwaine and Sanchez.

Mora bettered her own records while winning the 50 back (30.22) and 200 back (2:23.49). Her former best times were 30.41 and 2:27.10, respectively. Mora also placed first in the 500 free (5:52.0) and second in the 100 back (1:04.83).

McIlwaine significantly lowered the school record in the 200 breast while placing second in 2:39.08. The previous mark was 2:48.67 set by Emily Helpio in 2019.

McIlwaine also won the 200 free (2:08.63) and was second in the 100 individual medley (1:05.40) and 500 free (5:54.18)

Sanchez dropped her own school record in the 200 fly to 2:42.86 while placing second. Her time was nearly 7 seconds faster than she swam earlier this season. Sanchez also was second in the 50 fly (30.61) and third in the 100 fly (1:08.80).

Salazar (Redwood), Rachel Cosloy (Wichita, Kan.) and Maddie Pallares (Kingsburg) also swam to top-three finishes for the Giants' women.

Salazar won the 1,650 free (20:47.37), was third in the 200 free (2:11.66), and third in the 500 free (6:05.27); Cosloy was third in the 100 IM (1:10.23) and third in the 100 back (1:09.67); while Pallares was third in the 100 breast (1:16.62). 

Sequoias won despite losing three swimmers from its initial 14-woman roster, and having no divers, which put the Giants in a 170-point deficit after the first day of the event.

Also contributing points for Sequoias' women were Saelah Fields (Monache), Lauren Salazar (Tulare Western) and Miah Stringer (El Diamante).

"It was a little nerve racking losing some of our numbers," Briano said. "It's hard to win a meet like this without team size. Our girls knew they had to swim better than ever to make up that gap, and in almost every event, we moved up. A lot of people who never thought of themselves as big contributors stepped up to help our team."

For the Giants' men, Peters touched the wall in school-record times in three events individually: the 100 free (46.38), the 200 free (1:43.30) and the 100 IM (53.33). 

Peters bettered his own record of 46.48 in the 100 free set earlier this season, eclipsed Jimmy Koster's 2018 mark of 1:46.91 in the 200 free, and topped Chase Canterbury's 2019 time of 54.62 in the 100 IM.

Peters also won the 200 IM in 1:57.82, and was a member of first-place relay teams in the 200 free (1:28.05), 400 free (3:11.79), 200 medley (1:39.09) and 400 medley (3:39.85).

"He absolutely works his butt off," Briano said. "He's always requesting more so he can push himself. He has a very rare work ethic. He's earned every bit of success he's had. It wasn't an accident. He put in hours and hours and thousands of yards to get where he is. It's really rewarding to watch him drop so much time."

Zachary Welch (Exeter), Connor Bruton (Mt. Whitney) and Mark Marroquin (Kingsburg) joined Peters in the 200 and 400 free relays. The 200 and 400 medley relay teams also featured Bruton, Welch and Ezra Sisk (El Diamante).

"The group of five guys who are on all the relays,that group has trained for two years with no real chance to see the fruits of their labor," Briano said. "And they finally got to see it was worth it."

Sequoias completed a sweep of the relays with a win from the 800 free team of Sisk, Jacob Canaday (Mt. Whitney), Marroquin and Drake Sheela (Sierra Pacific-Hanford) in 7:39.56.

The Giants' men also received a record-breaking swim from Bruton, who went 27.92 while placing second in the 50 breast to better his own mark of 28.02 set earlier this season. Bruton also placed third in the 100 breast (1:00.15) and third in the 200 breast (2:15.74).

The diving duo of Jude Dizon (Golden West) and Ezra Cox (Tulare Western) got Sequoias' men off to a strong start by placing 1-2, respectively, in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events held on the first day of the meet.

Dizon, the Male Diver of the Meet, scored 183.90 points in the 1-meter and 285.25 points in the 3-meter to win both events. 

Cox scored 138.0 points in the 1-meter and 126.75 points in the 3-meter while finishing second in both events.

Also winning events for the Giants' men were Welch, who was first in the 50 free (21.59) and also second in the 100 free (46.48), second in the 200 free (1:45.16) and third in the 50 back (26.23); Sheela, who placed first in the 500 free (5:17.39); and Daylen Kiser, who was first in the 1,650 free (21:16.67).

Other major contributors included Marroquin, who was second in the 100 back (59.55) and third in the 50 free (23.25); Andrew Rozum (Mt. Whitney), who was second in the 400 IM (5:18.96) and third in the 200 fly (2:34.07); Sisk, who was second in the 50 fly (25.41) and third in the 500 free (5:31.58); and Canaday, who was third in the 50 fly (25.88).

Also providing points to the men's team were Phillip Bell (Mt. Whitney), Mac Garbani (Central Valley Christian), Luke Orosco (Mission Oak) and Stephen Pullom (Visalia)

Sequoias has qualified four women and seven men in a combined 17 events to the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships, scheduled for May 5-7 at East Los Angeles College.

For the women, Lambert is qualified in the 50 free (25.07), 100 free (53.56) and 100 breast (1:08.53); Mora in the 100 back (1:04.83) and the 200 back (2:23.49); McIlwaine in the 200 breast (2:39.08); and Salazar in the 1,650 free (20:47.37).

For the men, Peters qualified in the 100 free (46.38), 200 free (1:43.30) and 200 IM (1:57.82); Bruton in the 100 fly (53.81), 100 breast (1:00.15) and 200 breast (2:15.74); Welch in the 50 free (21.59), 100 free (46.48) and 200 free (1:45.16); Sisk in the 100 fly (55.93); Dizon and Cox in the 1- and 3-meter dives; and the 400 free relay team of Welch, Bruton, Marroquin and Peters (3:11.79).

Over the course of the season, Sequoias' swimmers broke a combined 12 men's and women's school records, with marks being set earlier this year by McIlwaine in the women's 400 IM (5:31.79) and Peters in the men's 100 back (53.79).