Cougars' Swim & Dive Teams Compete at Mt. SAC Invitational

Two College of the Canyons swim & dive student-athletes people stand on either side of a person facing away from the camera, pointing at the back of his navy jacket that has the word “Cougars” written in large script.
Results
March 2, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director  

WALNUT — College of the Canyons competed at the two-day Mt. San Antonio College Invitational over the weekend, with the Cougars turning in a number of strong individual performances.

COC sophomore diver Nicole Lerma continued to perform well in both the 1m & 3m events and was the top point scorer for the Cougars' women's team. She placed fourth in the field of 18 in the 1m event (150.25) and fifth in the field of nine for the 3m event (136). Her result in the 3m event was also the top mark among competitors from the Western State Conference (WSC).

Lerma's performance was good enough to place Canyons 17th among the 21 competing schools in the final team standings.

On the men's side, Canyons ranked 13th among the 21 schools from across the state.

The Cougars were led by Ian Rho who compiled 53 event points across his five qualifying events.

Rho's top result came in the 200-yard backstroke (6th/2:02.04). The freshman also earned points in the 100-yard backstroke (7th/55.77), 200-yard IM (7th/2:02.47), 400-yard IM (8th/4:33.49) and 500-yard freestyle (12th/5:05.46) events.

Xuanhao Guo competed in the 50-yard breaststroke (9th/28.93) and 200-yard breaststroke (13th/2:25.43). Bretton Williams added an eighth-place finish in the 1m dive (94.85).

Later, the team of Rho, Williams, Guo and Ethan Thai combined for a time of 9:07.07 in the 800-yard freestyle relay to place ninth.

"We had a fantastic weekend of racing with many breakthrough performances," said COC swim & dive head coach Erik Matheson after the event. "This meet gave us a chance to really apply our training. The progress we have made should provide us with positive momentum headed into the next few weekends of competition."

Up next, the Cougars will compete at the 47th Annual Cuesta College Invitational being held March 5-7, in San Luis Obispo.

WSC competition resumes Saturday, March 14, in a meet being hosted by L.A. Valley College.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.