Comets make noise at first PCAC Invite

YUCIAPA, CA (3/3/2023) -- Palomar College traveled to Crafton Hills College for the first conference invite of the season and showed they're not slowing down any time soon.

The Comets won both relays at the invite by a combined 11 seconds. In the 200Y Medley, the Comets finished with a time of 1:41.84, while Southwestern finished in second with a time of 1:48.22. In the last event of the day, both A and B relay raced in the 200Y Free Relay. The A team finished with a time of 1:33.19, while Crafton Hills finished in second with a time of 1:40.08 and the B team took third (1:42.57).

In the individual events, the Comets competed in nine events and won five of them, including a sweep of the 100Y Breast. Sophomores Kevin Brunia (1:01.39) and Jacob Rochman (1:05.31) went 1-2, while freshman Emmanuel De La Torre (1:08.60) finished in third. Rochman also won the 500Y Free with a time of 4:58.09. Ajay Ahooja and Cristos Birbilis went 3-4 with times of 5:36.16 and 5:46.25. De La Torre won the 50Y Breast with a time of 30.41 and Cody Poure finished in 4th with a time of 31.78. Ahooja and Rochman went 1-2 in the 100Y Fly with times of 53.96 and 55.03. Ahooja's final event was the 50Y Fly, which he won with a time of 24.44. Jake Coutts also swam the event and finished in 3rd with a time of 29.08. In the 100Y Free, Brunia finished in 2nd with a time of 50.97, while De La Torre took 5th with a time of 55.26. Manuel Carriles and Poure swam the 50Y Back and finished 3-4 with times of 32.91 and 34.43. Carriles and Coutts went 2-3 in the 50Y Free with times of 25.01 and 25.27.

The men will be competing at the Riverside Invitational on Friday and Saturday before hosting the next conference invite on Mar. 17.