El Camino women’s swim team speeds past East Los Angeles College

By Nikki Yunker • March 22, 2025

Alyssa Mack, an El Camino freshman, bobs out of the water during a swim meet against East Los Angeles in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Swimming the event for the first time, her training during the week included speed and endurance practice tailored for the 200-yard event. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

Faced with a 1,000-yard freestyle for just the second time, spectators could only spot flashes of El Camino College Warriors freshman swimmer Olivia Mozian as she sped through 40 end-to-end laps in the pool.

Emerging with a time of 11 minutes and 34 seconds, Mozian swiftly topped the scoreboard and shaved five seconds off her initial personal best.

“I think that since it’s a home meet, I definitely wasn’t taking it as seriously as I should have been,” Mozian, an 18-year-old marine science major, said. “But I mean I was obviously thinking just get better, get better, get better, and then I did better.”

Mozian contributed four wins to the Warrior’s women’s swim team, which won nine out of 13 swim events in a conference dual meet against the East Los Angeles College Huskies at the ECC Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21.

Olivia Mozian exclaims her support for teammates during the women's 400-yard freestyle relay against East Los Angeles at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Competing on the relay 'A' team, Mozian and teammates Victoria Rodriguez, Raina Henty-Dodd and Iyanah Samayoa clocked in at 5 minutes and 3 seconds, placing third behind East Los Angeles's quartet of Brisa Ayala, Magaly Melgar, Megan Hayashida and Angela Trieu. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union) — Olivia Mozian exclaims her support for teammates during the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay against East Los Angeles at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Competing on the relay ‘A’ team, Mozian and teammates Victoria Rodriguez, Raina Henty-Dodd and Iyanah Samayoa clocked in at 5 minutes and 3 seconds, placing third behind East Los Angeles’ quartet of Brisa Ayala, Magaly Melgar, Megan Hayashida and Angela Trieu. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

The Warriors women’s team swam against the Huskies in relay, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley competitions.

Several Warriors swimmers won first place, including Iyanah Samayoa in the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard butterfly, Victoria Rodriguez in the 100-yard backstroke, Raina Henty-Dodd in the 50-yard freestyle, and Alyssa Mack in the 200-yard breaststroke.

All the women on the team earned personal bests throughout the events.

“It’s rewarding to see all their hard work and practice and training kind of pay off in the end,” coach Shelby Haroldson said.

El Camino sophomore Yanie Camarador looks up to check the scoreboard shortly after finishing her race in the women’s 200-yard backstroke at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Camarador finished the backstroke event in 2 minutes and 45 seconds, placing second in her heat. The sophomore said she plans to focus on breath control to improve her time. “I really felt like I wasn’t really holding my breath like I’m used to at practice, so I want to really focus on that and implement that in the week,” Camarador said. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

The Huskies’ swimmers earned a few personal bests and took top scores in some of the events, including Emma Dear in the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley, Megan Duong in the 100-yard breaststroke and Angela Trieu in the 100-yard freestyle.

“When it comes to our team, they are very close, very supportive, they spend a lot of time together, because not only do they have practices together, but they also have classes together,” coach Diana Romero said.

(L-R) East Los Angeles College swimmers: Sindy Rojas, 30, hugs Angela Trieu, 24, while ELAC psychology major Brisa Ayala, 18, and biology major Magaly Melgar, 18, lean in for a picture. Ayala and Melgar went to Bell Gardens High School together. — (L-R) East Los Angeles College swimmers: Sindy Rojas, 30, hugs Angela Trieu, 24, while ELAC psychology major Brisa Ayala, 18, and biology major Magaly Melgar, 18, lean closer together. Rojas and Trieu, who has been swimming since she was 9 years old, achieved new personal bests during the event. “I worked at a place to teach little kids and adults [swimming],” Trieu said. “I never thought that swimming for college was possible unless you were recruited, so I joined the swim team here, and it motivates me to help little kids.” (Nikki Yunker | The Union)

As East Los Angeles College only has a women’s swim team, the Warriors men’s team participated in an intrasquad meet.

“It’s way more fun this way,” electrical engineering major Brayden Sanchez, 19, said. “It feels more personal; I have something at stake–like if I lose–I’m not going to forget about it. If I lose to some other team, I’m never seeing them again.”

Coach Noah Rubke said that while intrasquad meets typically occur pre-seasonally, this meet was a rare mid-season opportunity where the team has been through weeks of practice.

“The last relay [the 400-yard freestyle] was what I wanted it to be … I wanted to put [the fastest swimmer] in a position where he had to catch up to somebody, and it kind of made everyone try to do their part and go fast,” Rubke said.

Samuel Orendain darts out of the water during the men's 200-yard butterfly at a swim meet against East Los Angeles at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Heading into the meet, Orendain recorded 2 minutes and 24 seconds in the event, improving his time by five-tenths of a second faster against the Huskies. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union) — Samuel Orendain darts out of the water during the men’s 200-yard butterfly at a swim meet against East Los Angeles at the Aquatics Center on Friday, March 21. Heading into the meet, Orendain recorded 2 minutes and 24 seconds in the event, improving his time by five-tenths of a second faster against the Huskies. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

Rubke highlighted the performance of Angel Byrne, who placed first in the 1000-yard free style, with 11 minutes and 51 seconds; the 100-yard freestyle, with 57 seconds; and the 500-yard freestyle, with 5 minutes and 39 seconds.

Sanchez earned personal bests in four events and captured the top score in the 100-yard breaststroke, completing it in 1 minute and 12 seconds, and contributed to a team win in the last relay.

“That relay at the end, that dude chasing me, that was motivation to go my fastest,” Sanchez said.

The Warriors’ swim teams will next face the Pasadena City College Lancers and the Chaffey College Panthers at 10 a.m. in the ECC Aquatics Center on Friday, March 28.

Editor’s Note: A photo caption was updated Saturday, March 21 at 11:32 a.m.