In the women’s 400 yard freestyle relay, a Warriors swimmer committed a false start violation and the team was disqualified from the event. This was the only event the Warriors would not have an officially recorded time for.
Warriors women’s captain Ida Due and Warriors men’s swimmer Aziz Jaouhar placed first in their individual events against East L.A. College and Long Beach City College on Friday, March 22, at El Camino’s pool complex.
Due still finished the 400 yard freestyle relay with a single lap time of 27.47 and a total time of 57.06, establishing herself as one of the fastest swimmers at the meet.
The Warriors men’s swim team beat Long Beach by a combined score of 167-68. The women’s swim team lost against Long Beach 151-83 but beat East L.A. 131-72. East L.A. did not have a men’s team at the meet.
Due competed in three individual events and one relay, setting new school and pool records.
“I’m trying to get the (1000 yard) school record and pool record, and then the two-fly school record,” Due said. “I practice 10 times a week, and I try to get through every set but it’s mostly mental.”
During the women’s 1000 yard freestyle, Due finished with a time of 10:50.98, beating Long Beach’s Alejandra Villa (11:53.96) and Warriors teammate Annette Rodriguez (14:48.32).
In the women’s 200 yard butterfly, the 19-year old Due placed first with a time of 2:17.18. She beat Long Beach’s Victoria Rowe (2:26.61) and Warriors teammate Trinity McKee (3:16.70).
Due’s final first-place finish would come in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:14.73, beating Long Beach’s Villa (2:25.68) and Sarah Capt (2:50.69).
For the Warriors men’s team, Jaouhar, an international student from Tunisia, North Africa, was the standout swimmer.
“I’ll be thinking about my parents,” Jaouhar said. “I’m here for a reason. I need to work hard. I did everything I can and I’m just gonna put it all in there.”
For the men’s 200 yard medley relay, Jaouhar and Warriors teammate Nate Griffith combined for the first place time of 1:48.81.
Four Warriors competed in the men’s 1000 yard freestyle. Jaouhar’s time of 10:21.45 was enough to finish ahead of Wyatt Kircher (11:13.00), Ben Kelly (11:25.45) and Ryan Winkler (12:34.85).
Jaouhar’s 55.94 finish in the men’s 100 yard backstroke was enough to defeat Long Beach’s Michael Baker (57.93) and Felipe Carsalade (1:07.36).
“I really think I did well after I swam the thousand and the hundred backstroke,” Jaouhar said. “That’s the one that really got all of my energy.”
Jaouhar finished his final event, the men’s 200 yard backstroke, with a time of 2:01.30 that propelled him above Warriors teammate Brett Albert (2:24.49) and Long Beach’s Max Alvarado (3:14.57).
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Jaouhar said.
