By Ron Smith
November 20, 2023
 
(MONTEBELLO, Calif.) Westmont Women's Swimming participated in the four-day La Verne Winter Invitational held at East Los Angeles College that concluded on Sunday. As a team, the Warriors finished 11th out of 16 that included 11 schools from the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference. Among those schools, Westmont finished eighth.
 
"We saw 43 season best times , 40 lifetime best times , three program records, and an incredible amount of team spirit and support," reported Westmont's head coach Jill Lin. "The Warriors had so much positive and supportive energy. They really carried each other during these long grueling days at the pool.
 
Ella Chaisson broke the school record in the 100 yard backstroke not just once, but twice. In the preliminaries, she went 58.17, then dropped to 57.60 in the finals to finish in 10th place.
 
Emma Bustamante posted a school record 2:14.62 in the preliminaries of the 200 yard butterfly, dropping more than a second and one-half off the previous record.
 
"Ella's 100 yard backstroke was a huge surprise and Emma's 200 yard fly program record was a truly incredible swim," noted Lin.
 
Olivia Garrison posted a 10th place finish in the 1650 yard freestyle with a time of 17:58.89 while freshman Grace McAnear finished 14th in a time of 18:08.65.
 
"Grace had never swam the 1650 before and her time set her up for a top 16 position in our conference," observed Lin.
 
"Our large freshmen class got to experience their first multi-season invitational and really swam their hearts out in the morning sessions," said Lin. "It was so fun seeing them swim with no expectations and be completely surprised by their results."
 
The Warriors will next compete on Saturday, December 9 when they host the Cougars of Azusa Pacific in a dual meet. The first race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.