Four Giants reach medal podium at state swimming/diving championships

By Nick Giannandrea
COS ATHLETICS
College of the Sequoias produced six podium performances -- highlighted by Jackson Coon's fifth-place finish on the men's 3-meter dive -- during the 76th annual California Community College Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships.
Coon was one of three Giants' men to finish among the state's top-eight on the 3-meter board during a meet held May 1-3 at Santa Rosa Junior College.
A sophomore from Redwood High, Coon scored 202.95 points, finishing behind champion Ben Lentz of Marin (262.85), second-place Dylan McQuade of San Diego Mesa (234.50), third-place Ethan Rij of Clovis (224.50) and fourth-place Niccolo Scornaienghi of Cypress (211.80).
Teammate Liam Henshaw (sophomore/Golden West) finished a spot behind in sixth with a score of 188.10, and Guy Woodard (sophomore/Golden West) was eighth with 172.35.
Coon also finished on the podium in the 1-meter dive, placing seventh with 192.40 points. Woodard was ninth with 175.50, Henshaw was 10th in 170.15 and Ethan Solimon (freshman/Redwood) was 18th in 111.95.
The divers combined to score 66 of Sequoias' 80 points for a 15th place finish out of 32 colleges on the men's side. Sierra was first with 443 points, capturing its fifth straight men's state title.
For the Giants' women, Reannon Herrera (Porterville) also had a pair of podium placings, finishing seventh on the 1-meter dive (192.25) and eighth on the 3-meter dive (172.90).
She scored 23 of the 44 points for Sequoias' women, who finished 22nd out of 34 schools. Mt. San Antonio was the women's state champion with 440 points.
Combined, the Giants men's and women's team scored 124 points, 21st out of 46 colleges. Mt. SAC was first with 857.
"Our divers performed very well at a meet that is the very best of the best in NorCal and SoCal community college," Sequoias assistant coach Ezra Sisk said. "Our team has worked hard since August, pushing themselves on and off the boards to better their dives and perfect their skills, and it was amazing to watch all of their hard work unravel at this meet. Watching them compete at the highest level and taking home some hardware means the world to me."
In all, the Giants had 16 state meet participants, 11 men and five women. It was the most in Ally Briano's eight seasons as Sequoias' head coach.
Brendan Meyer (Lemoore) competed in three individual events for the Giants' men, finishing 18th in the 100 free (48.26), 21st in the 200 free (1:49.67) and 22nd in the 50 free (21.64). He was also a member of the 12th-place 200 medley relay (1:36.64) and 16th-place 400 free relay (3:16.38).
The 200 medley relay also featured Vinnie Sanchez (Golden West), Taylor Greene (El Diamante) and Trent Regier (Kingsburg). Quinn Rea (Mt. Whitney), Jackson LoBue (Monache-Porterville) and Connor Rohman (Mt. Whitney) joined Meyer on the 400 free relay.
Regier placed 15th in the 100 butterfly in 51.83.
Azulema Ayon (Exeter) competed in three individual events for the Giants' women, placing ninth in the 100 fly (1:01.01), 18th in the 50 free (25.40) and she did not state the B Final of the 200 fly after placing 13th in preliminaries (2:29.42).
Kenzie Hyder qualified in two individual events, placing 10th in the 200 free (2:00.42) and 16th in the 100 free (56.12).
Ayon was the leadoff and Hyder the anchor of a 200 free relay team also featuring Mikenna Curtis (Dinuba) and Lauren Pelayo (El Diamante) that finished 15th in 1:44.02.
Josh Mitchell (Redwood) for the men, and Savannah Gates (Hartland Charter/Lindsay) and Gracie Rivas (El Diamante) for the women qualified as relay alternates, but did not compete.