Erica Bender, Brandon Gregory and Stephen Sorbom, competed in the state championships this past weekend at East Los Angeles College.

“I just tried my hardest and focused on everything I worked on so hard this season,” Bender said.

Bender placed 14th out of 53 in the 50- freestyle for the preliminary that gave the team three points.

“We were able to score some points at the championships, which is always a good thing,” Corey Stanbury, coach, said.

Although Bender did not make it to the preliminaries and finals for her 200- freestyle and 100-freestyle, she was still happy with the outcome of the season.

“I had a really good season and I got personal best times in all of my events,” Bender said.

Gregory placed 16th in the 500-freestyle and Sorbom did not place in the championship.

“Sorbom’s swims were very close and nothing short of phenomenal,” Stanbury said. “He’s barely a freshman and has improved so much throughout the season.”

Shanese Douglas favored the last meet as well for she said that watching everyone support each other was “one of the greatest moments.”

The swimmers said that the strong bond between the team was what helped them get through the season.

“The best thing about this season was being part of a team,” Bender said. “Everyone is so nice and funny and we can just be ourselves.”