Pirates take third overall at OEC Swim Championships
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's swim team earned a third-place team finish this past weekend at the 2026 Orange Empire Conference Championships, held at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
The Pirates finished with 626 points over the three-day event, topped only by Riverside City College (876) and Golden West (700). Cypress (618) finished fourth overall, followed by Saddleback (298) and Fullerton (8).
Coast finished with five individual titles, led by Kaua Mota. The sophomore won three events, including the 100 Butterfly (48.47), 100 Individual Medley (50.56) and 100 Freestyle (45.11).
Jun Caruso chipped in with a win in the 200 Breaststroke (2:02.20) while Oscar Cruz was a winner in the 200 Butterfly (1:53.58).
In terms of gold-silver-bronze medals went, the Pirates picked up quite the selection. In addition to the five golds, Coast earned seven silver medals and a pair of bronze medals for their efforts.
Other top-three Pirate performances included ...
SECOND PLACE
200 Freestyle Relay (Kaua Mota, Cade Zeilinger, Jun Caruso, Jackson Williams), 1:25.27
400 Medley Relay (Merrik Riddle, Jun Caruso, Kaua Mota, Dylan Knox), 3:29.64
200 Medley Relay (Oscar Cruz, Jun Caruso, Kaua Mota, Jackson Williams), 1:33.64
100 Breaststroke -- Jun Caruso, 56.49
100 Backstroke -- Jackson Williams, 53.39
200 Backstroke -- Jackson Williams, 1:48.59
200 Freestyle Relay (Jackson Williams, Kaua Mota, Diego Lamboglia, Jun Caruso), 3:07.04
THIRD PLACE
200 Individual Medley -- Jun Caruso, 1:56.61
800 Freestyle Relay (Jackson Williams, Jack McCann, Diego Lamboglia, Oscar Cruz), 7:08.05
The Pirates will now gear up for the big one ... the 3C2A Swimming/Diving State Championships, which will take place April 30-May 2, right here at the OCC Aquatics Pavilion.
