El Camino's Mia Park expected to shine again at 3C2A Women's Swimming and Diving State Meet
COSTA MESA - After many years of records and big moments at an older East Los Angeles College Swim Stadium, the 2024 3C2A Women's Swimming and Diving State Championships has a new home this year at Orange Coast College.
But what comes with the new is a bit of the old as last year's Co-Swimmer of the Meet--El Camino's Mia Park--is back to likely win the coveted award again. Park captured three events at the '23 meet and is a prohibitive favorite in the trio of swims she is entered for the state meet that runs this Friday-Saturday, May 2-4.
OCC's Aquatic Center was opened in 2020 (see photo at bottom of release).
Park won the 100, 200 and 500-yard freestyles last season, but changed it up a bit to take part in the 200, 500, and now 1,650 swims. She set an amazing five South Coast Conference meet records at the conference finals.
The Pirates, the Orange Empire Conference champions, would love nothing better than to return to the winner's team podium after Santa Monica surprised the swim world in winning the 2023 championship.
OCC had won three straight titles between 2018-19 and 2022, and has an amazing 21 state crowns in the 44-year history of the state meet.
Santa Barbara City will be vying for its first state title after winning its ninth straight Western State Conference crown, finishing in first by a whopping 304 team points more than second place Los Angeles Valley.
Sierra College, champions in 2017, and state runner-up last year won its sixth Big 8 Conference title in the past seven complete seasons. The Wolverines have nine swimmers and a diver qualified for various events while Santa Barbara has eight and a diver. With relays, the two teams have numbers and can build points in the standings.
Diablo Valley, South Coast Conference champion Long Beach City, and Mt. San Antonio also have squads that could keep them high in the standings while El Camino and Santa Rosa are potential dangerous point makers.
The state meet begins Thursday and runs through Saturday (May 2-4). The Prelims each day begins at 9 a.m. and the finals are 4:30 p.m. for the first two days, then 4 p.m. on the final day.
Here is an individual event-by-event look at the 45th state meet:
200 Freestyle Relay--Orange Coast had the fastest mark (1:38.11), but on its fins will be Santa Barbara (just .71 back), Santa Rosa (trailing by .85) and likely the other five finalists.
500 Freestyle--ECC's Park (4:57.29) has a nearly 8-second advantage over the next fastest swimmer in SBCC's Lily Carrick and should prevail easily.
200 Individual Medley--Allan Hancock's Noemi Bravo-Guzman is the favorite here at 2:07.91 and could be challenged by El Camino's Iyanah Samayoa, but would have to make up 2.25 seconds to catch her.
50 Freestyle--Grossmont's Camille Seiley has the fastest season time at 23.90, but anything can happen in the sprint. San Diego Mesa's Aurora Prehara, West Valley's Hannah Edwards, and Santa Rosa's Tori Creaves are in the mix.
400 Medley Relay--Mt. SAC has the top seed at 4:02.05, but Santa Rosa, El Camino, and West Valley are a fast split away from the gold.
1-Meter Diving--Las Positas Sarah Dorn had the highest score in the North at 293.5 points on the short board while Palomar's Megan Gornall was the SoCal champion (her high is 227.45). Others expected to challenge are last year's silver medalist in Orange Coast's Lia Borja ('23 SoCal champ), Santa Barbara's Morgan Cederholm (243.5), and Long Beach's Katie Juarez (238.95).
200 Medley Relay--El Camino is the early favorite at 1:50.85, but this will be a wild one with West Valley, SRJC, Sierra, Mt. San Antonio, OCC, and Foothill all in the race for this title.
400 IM--Only a second separates Carrick (4:32.83) and Bravo-Guzman as this should be a fun one to the finish.
100 Butterfly--Ema Klimauskas, a member of the '23 state champion SMC squad, has the top time going at 56.55. The closest competitor appears to be Mt. SAC's Elleanna Ramos (57.31).
200 Freestyle--Park again has a sizeable advantage at 1:51.30 compared to the rest of the field with the next fastest being Santa Barbara's Maddie Myers at 1:54.45. Three seconds to make up in a short swim is an eternity in this sport.
100 Breaststroke--Santa Rosa's Madeleine West is the frontrunner at 1:04.54 but expect ECC's Samayoa and Sierra's Morgan Forkum to battle it out.
100 Backstroke--LA Valley's Lilliana Noriega has the best seed time at 57.11 and a 1.5 second distance over Foothill's Olivia Khan.
800 Freestyle Relay--Santa Barbara set a wicked fast 7:50.79 and is a massive favorite here, but stranger things have happened when it comes to relays.
3-Meter Diving--American River's Aubrey Watts scored a 247.95 and is going to need to be at her best on the high board to hold off Gornall (242.75), SoCal champ Juarez (222.05), ARC teammate Rachel Choi (229.15), and OCC's Borja (216.30).
1,650 Freestyle--Park has established her dominance in the mile swim at 17:14.21 and this could be her piece de resistance in potentially capturing her sixth state meet first-place medal in two years. Caroline Oates of SBCC is next best at 17:45.34.
200 Backstroke--AHC's Bravo-Guzman also has a chance at three event titles with her 2:03.35 seed a giant one over the next quickest in the pool--Foothill's Khan at 2:08.63.
100 Freestyle--Easily the most competitive event for this year's meet as Seiley (52.32), Myers (52.34), LAVC's Noriega (52.99), Carrick and Orange Coast's Paige Woodside should make this a possible finger-touch at the wall for the win.
200 Breaststroke--Samayoa comes in as the seed leader at 2:20.68, but expect SRJC's West to challenge her despite her 2:23.78 fastest mark.
200 Butterfly--A number of swims at this year's state meet has the top seed well ahead of the bunch and here it's SMC's Klimauskas at 2:02.89. Just like the 100 fly, Mt. SAC's Ramos is next best, and the only other swimmer under 2:10.
400 Freestyle Relay--Santa Barbara has a 3.69 edge over #2 seed Long Beach and the Vaqueros have an opportunity make beaucoup points in at least the three free relay events.
Orange Coast College's Aquatic Center
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCSIA for the 3C2A