Pirates Swimmers 3rd, 7th at Riverside Invite

The VC women's swimming and diving team finished third of nine teams at the Riverside Invitational held Friday and Saturday March 10-11. The Pirate men were seventh as a team in the two-day meet. Allison Harris led the women with a pair of gold medals in the 1m and 3m diving events and Allison Donnelly had four individual Top-6 finishes. Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Andrews led the Ventura men.

Harris won her first gold in the 1m diving event on Friday. She posted a combined score of 200.65 to claim first, nearly six points ahead of second place. She then repeated the award with a 188.70 score on Saturday in the 3m diving competition.

Lauren Pierce finished fourth in the 1m diving and sixth in the 3m diving while Kendal Santos was fifth in the 1m and third in the 3m events.

Donnelly also had an outstanding meet. She finished fifth in the 200-yard individual medley before coming in sixth in the 500-yard freestyle. She earned a silver medal in the 400-yard IM and came in fourth in the 1650-yard free.

Additionally, Donnelly anchored the Pirates' 200-yard freestyle relay team with Ahna Davis, Cassidy Yanca and Shelby Jackson to finish fifth. VC's 800-yard freestyle relay quartet of Donnelly, Davis, Jackson and Yanca also finished fourth.  The same four also came in fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

In addition to her relay duties, Davis came in 10th in the 50-yard freestyle and 13th in the 100-yard backstroke. She also finished 10th in the 200-yard free. Yanca came in seventh in the 500-yard free.

Caitlyn Hilgenberg came in fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and touched in 15th place in the 100-yard backstroke. She also earned points with a 16th place finish in the 200-yard free.

Stephany Dijar touched in sixth in the 100-yard breast stroke and Emily Baughn was 12th in the event.

Gonzalez led the Pirate men with a fifth place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle while coming in fifth in the 400-yard individual medley. He also earned points placing 15th and 16th, respectively, in the 500- and 200-yard freestyle events. 

Gonzalez teamed up with Andrews, Sebastian Ayala, George Bonilla and Rafael Rodriguez to place eighth in the 200-yard medley relay while Gonzalez, Bonilla, Hunter Johnson and Raf. Rodriguez also came in eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Gonzalez, Johnson, Ramon Rodriguez and Raf. Rodriguez posted an 11th place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay while Andrews, Ayala, Jonathan Fleming and Ram. Rodriguez were 11th in the 400-yard freestyle relay. 

Andrews finished fourth in the 3m diving event and fifth in the 1m diving.

Fleming touched in 12th place in the 400-yard IM while Bonilla was 14th and Ayala finished 15th.

Ventura next travels to Los Angeles Valley College on Saturday March 18 for the Western State Conference No. 2 meet with all WSC team competing.