By Ron Smith
February 18, 2024
 
(MONTEREY PARK, Calif.) The final day of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championship brought an end to Westmont 2023-24 season, but not before Warrior swimmer set more lifetime bests and All-PCSC honors.
 
The Warriors started the day with the 200 yard backstroke.
 
"Brogan Braaten and Katlyn McCurtain made it back to finals," reported Westmont's head coach Jill Lin. "Katlyn went a lifetime best in the morning (2:10.57) and then in the evening they both improved their times."
 
McCurtain finished in 16th place in the prelims to qualify for the 'B' final while Braaten's time of 2:16.55 earned her 24th place and a spot in the 'C' finals.
 
"Brogan dropped a second off her lifetime best in the finals (2:13.99) and Katlyn dropped another two seconds (2:08.79) and was one second off of the school record held by Morgan Bienias.
 
McCurtain moved up two places to finish 14th.

"In the 100 yard freestyle, freshman Willow Pezone showed up and swam a lifetime best (53.60) that got her into the 'B' final," noted Lin. "In the finals she added a little time (53.67), but being able to go two 53s in a day was really great."

Next was the 200 yard breaststroke with two Warriors making the finals – Ella Chaisson and Abby Rickard.
 
"Kelly Neill went a lifetime best (2:34.28)," said Lin. "After the heavy day she had yesterday it was fun to see her drop time.
 
"Abby dropped two seconds for a lifetime best (2:31.78), secured her spot in the 'C' final and moved up a place in the finals (2:31.74) for 19th.
 
"Ella had a great morning swim to secure a seventh place spot in the finals. Then, she swam a much more aggressive final race to nail a fifth place finish (2:24.33). It was neck and neck for third and two other swimmers tied for third leaving fifth to Ella. It was so fun to watch her swim her last individual race with so much determination. She is a true Warrior and has made such an impact on our program in so many indescribable ways."
 
Chaisson picked up her second All-Conference award as a result of her finish.
 
Two Warrior swimmers also qualified for the finals in the 200 yard butterfly – Emma Bustamante and Allisson McDougal.

"Our 200 flyers were monsters in the morning securing their spots in the 'C' finals," said Lin. "Allison swam a lifetime best by four seconds in the morning (2:20.58). In the finals, Emma had a better approach to her race and crushed it to break her own school record by two seconds (2:12.65). It was a great finish to the individual events. Allison had a great meet overall and her willingness to swim the toughest events helped our team a ton.

"The main event of the day was the 1650 yard freestyle. Our prelims swimmers really went for it. Tiffany Ball dropped 20 seconds for a lifetime best time (21:14.43) and Emma Robinson dropped a second but also secured a 24th place finish.

"At the start of the 1650 finals, Olivia Garrison and Grace McAnear swam their mile in the final heat and both had gutsy swims. There is nothing more intimidating than knowing you have to race for roughly 20 minutes in pain the entire time. They fought through it and Grace pulled away with an eighth place finish and lifetime best by 10 seconds (17:58.95). Going under 18:00 gives her a good shot at qualifying for the CSCAA Open Water Championships in Florida in December. Grace has had a great year of development into a distance swimmer and it's been a huge learning curve. She has taken it on with positivity and I'm excited to see where that takes her."
 
McAnear's efforts earned her All-Conference honors. Garrison finished with a time of 18:14.12 and finished 15th.

Like most swim meets, the Championships ended with the 400 yard freestyle relay.
 
"Willow, Ella, Katlyn and Olivia crushed their heat to secure an eighth place finish overall," expressed Lin. "Our trusty Olivia anchored that relay and managed to out touch the Fresno Pacific team to make that happen.

"Overall, it was such a fun meet for us. We had a lot of highs and lows and in-betweens, but this young team really stepped up and approached each race with tenacity and positivity and it showed in our results.

"I'm so proud of all the work they have put in, not only in the pool but in creating an amazing culture. I'm so grateful that I get to coach them every day."