(Riverside, CA) By the smallest of margins, the Mt. SAC Men's Swim team squeaked out a victory in the annual Riverside City College Invitational on Friday (April 8).
The win came by just a mere six points, as Mt. SAC scored 448 points, while Golden West had 442 in the 20-team Invite.
Finishing in the top five were Grossmont (384.5), Saddleback (353) and Palomar (248).
"The kids swam really well," Mt. SAC Men's Swimming coach Marc Ruh said. "All and all, the entire team swam really well. Five swims in about four hours on a very hot day in Riverside. They were pretty wiped at the end of it."
The Mounties came away with seven individual first-place finishes.
Leading the way for the Mounties was Matthew Neoh, as he has done most of the season, with three victories in the 50 and 200 Freestyle and the 100 Butterfly.
All three of his wins were personal bests.
Also winning multiple races was Spencer Sorosky in the 200 and 400 Individual Medley.
Sorosky was a scratch in the third event due to some pain.
"We are trying to keep (Sorosky) and some others together for the remainder of the season," said Ruh, of some of the swimmers nagging injuries. "Our trainers are going to be our MVP's coming down the stretch."
Other first-place finishes were Logan Morales (200 Fly) and Connor Rias (1650 Free).
"Connor (Rias) also had a big win in the mile," Ruh added. "That was the first one he had ever swum. He has turned out to be quite versatile, swimming all free events from the 50 to the mile and is very successful at all of them."
One of the differences in the meet was the diving entrants for the Mounties. The two divers, Maximus Sandoval (14 Pts.) and Sebastian Burgos (13 Pts.), combined for 27 points for a fifth and sixth-place finish, respectively.
"On the men's side, it turned out to be the divers that were the difference for us overcoming Golden West," Ruh said. "They really stepped up."
Mt. SAC placed second and third, respectively in the 400 Free and 200 Medley relays.
The divers will take center stage next, as they will compete in the South Coast Conference and CCCAA So Cal's beginning Friday (April 15) and concluding on Saturday (April 16) at El Camino College.
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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.