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College of the Canyons

Canyons Back in the Water at Second Conference Meet

College of the Canyons swimmer Xuanhao Guo in a swim cap and goggles performs the breaststroke in a pool, with water splashing around his arms during a race at the meet held March 14, 20226 at L.A. Valley College.
Results Results
March 16, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

VALLEY GLEN — College of the Canyons was back in the water with its Western State Conference (WSC) rivals as the Cougars combined for seven top-10 performances at the L.A. Valley College Aquatic Center on Saturday.

Canyons was led by freshman Xuanhao Guo on the men's side and sophomore diver Nicole Lerma for the women's team.

Guo placed fifth in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.90) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.84) events to represent the top marks for Canyons.

COC freshman Ethan Thai's best result came in the 100-yard backstroke (1:07.55) in which he placed 10th.

Bretton Williams added points with his third-place finish in the 1M dive at a score of 110.50.

The combination of Guo, Williams, George Garibay and Thai clocked a time of 3:47.39 in the 400-yard freestyle relay to place ninth.

Garibay's top individual result came in the 200-yard backstroke in which he placed 16th (2:47.34).

Cuesta College (586) won the men's meet with Ventura College (368.5) and host L.A. Valley (323) in the top three spots. COC (83) finished eighth on the day.

On the women's side Lerma opened the day with a fourth-place showing in the 1M dive at a mark of 122.25. In the 3M event it was Lerma as runner-up with a score of 153.75.

Alyssa Cortez placed 14th in both the 100-yard freestyle (1:08.24) and 100-yard backstroke (1:28.41) to represent her top results

Santa Barbara City College (626) won the women's meet with L.A. Valley (455) and Cuesta (425) following in the top three. Canyons (39) was ninth in the team standings.

"It was another great meet with lots of strong performances and every team member scoring points," said COC head coach Erick Matheson. "Enthusiasm is high, which is perfect as we head into a two-week period of training before our next competition."

Canyons will swim again at the WSC meet hosted by Santa Monica College on Friday, March 27. 

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. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information