City College women’s swimming team has made a name for itself in the Western State Conference, dominating the conference championships to win the title in the program’s second year of existence.
“In the beginning of the season it was all about improvement in general,” head coach Brian “Chuckie” Roth said. “I never thought we would be here, it’s above expectations, it’s amazing. Now we can win state.”
Sophomore Rachelle Visser had an outstanding finish to a memorable season, winning three events (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 butterfly) with conference record times and earning honors for WSC Swimmer of the Year.
But Visser wasn’t alone when it came to great performances. Katherine “Moose” Warren won twice and came in second in another event. Warren won the 1650 freestyle on 18:12.81, a school record.
City College claimed the conference title with 522 points, well ahead of runner-up Cuesta’s 412 points. Ventura finished third at 376 and L.A. Pierce took fourth place at 357.5. City College also has two wins and one second-place finish in the WSC group stage.
“We have so many standouts this year. Last year Rachelle kind of led but now everyone has stepped up their game,” Roth said. “Ashley Macedo has had fast times, Alaina Chela and Moose have also been great. Autumn Lovett too.”
At the WSC Championships Chela took second in the 200 butterfly, Lovett placed third in the 200 back and Macedo came fourth in the 200 breaststroke.
The Vaqueros attributed their explosive rise to the top of the conference to their hard work and training five times a week. During the practices, Roth focuses on group dynamic and improvement but he also dives into one-on-one training when needed. And that is one of many good qualities that he has according to Visser.
“I really like him. He has helped me a lot with being mentally stronger,” Visser said. “One of my obstacles is that I get easily distracted and he helps me with that.”
“We’ve had a great season and I’m really impressed with the girls,” Roth said.
After such a strong performance, expectations are high for the team’s performance at the state championships. The three-day event is scheduled to begin Thursday, April 30 at East LA.
