Cougars Turn In Strong Performances at PCC/ELAC Invitational

A College of the Canyons swim & dive student-athlete wearing a white swim cap and dark goggles performs a freestyle stroke in a bright outdoor swimming pool. Their right arm is extended forward above the water while their face turns slightly to breathe, with water splashing around their shoulders. Yellow, white, and green lane dividers run horizontally across the pool, and blurred swimmers and splashes are visible in the background, suggesting an active race or practice session.
Results Results
April 10, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

MONTEREY PARK — College of the Canyons competed at the annual Pasadena City/East L.A. College Invitational held April 2-4, with the Cougars posting several strong performances during the three-day meet.

Canyons scored early points during the meet's opening-day dive competitions.

COC sophomore Nicole Lerma finished second in both the 1M dive (153.15) and 3M dive events (176.60). On the men's side it was Bretton Williams taking fifth (139.50) in the 1M dive.

Back in the pool, freshman Ian Rho produced three top-five finishes at the meet.

Rho's top result came in the form of a runner-up result in the 400-yard IM at a time of 4:30.17. He also placed third in the 200-yard IM (2:00.96) and fourth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.01). Rho capped his individual events by finishing eighth in the 100-yard backstroke event (57.96).

Elsewhere, it was Xuanhao Guo taking fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:31.60) for his top result of the meet. Guo later finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.33).

Williams' performance in the 200-yard breaststroke also netted a 10th place result (2:54.65).

Ethan Thai and George Garibay both posted their top individual finishes in the 200-yard backstroke. Thai was 13th (2:29.01) with Garibay finished in 16th (2:42.34).

The Cougars' top relay results came via the team of Rho, Guo, Williams and Thai which competed in five races.

The foursome placed sixth in both the 800-yard freestyle (8:23.07) and 200-yard medley relay (1:50.38) events to represent the team's top results. In the 400-yard relay, it was the same combination taking eighth at a time of 3:40.35.

In the oveall team results, Canyons (224) finished seventh in the field of eight competing men's teams. Cypress College (793) won the meet ahead of Diablo Valley College (764.5) and El Camino College (561) in the top three spots.

COC (40) took 10th place in the women' team standings. L.A. Valley College (698.5) won the meet with El Camino (594) and Ventura College (530.5) in the first three positions.

Freshman Alyssa Cortez was joined by Lerma in representing the Cougars' women's team.

Cortez' top performance came in the 100-yard butterfly (1:30.88) and placed her 13th in the field. She also took 15th in the 200-yard freestyle (2:35.54) event.

"At the PCC/East L.A. Invite, we selected specific events to better prepare for the upcoming WSC championships," said COC swim & dive head coach Erik Matheson. "I am very pleased with the outcome. We are in a good place going into the final stages of the season."

Canyons will see its divers compete at the Western State Conference (WSC)/3C2S SoCal Regional Dive Championships on Friday, April 10, with the competition eventually crowning both a WSC and SoCal Regional championship. Results from the regional dive championships will also determine qualifiers for the 3C2A state championships.

The rest of the squad will then hit the deck at the three-day WSC Championships being hosted at L.A. Valley College April 16-18.

Qualifiers will eventually move on to compete at the 3C2A Swim & Dive Championships being held April 30 to May 2 at Orange Coast 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. 

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information