Welch crushes school records at CVC Championships
MERCED – Clovis Community College freshman Justin Welch put together a record-breaking weekend for the Crush at the 2022 Central Valley Conference Championships. The three-day event at Merced College wrapped up on Saturday.
Welch, originally out Buchanan High School, swam to four first-place finishes while setting new school records in the process.
He captured conference championships in the 50-yard backstroke with his time of 23.82 (previous record 26.88), 100 fly at 51.85 (previous record 53.05), 100 back at 52.25 (previous record 57.97), and 200 back at 1:53.05 (previous record 2:09.99).
Gabe Santanton also had a good championship meet, compiling a pair of third-place finishes and two fourth-place showings. He was third in the 50 breast (30.25) and 200 free (1:56.10) and took fourth in the 100 breast (1:06.41) and 200 breast (2:20.88).
Gordon Young brought home four top-10 finishes, taking fifth in the 50 back (29.65), sixth in the 50 free (24.77), seventh in the 100 back (1:04.68), and 10th in the 100 free (55.58).
Jesus Lopez rounded out the meet for the Crush, earning top 10 finishes in three of his four events. He took eighth in the 100 IM (1:08.74), ninth in the 50 free (26.15), and 10th in the 100 fly (1:07.20).
The Clovis men totaled 505 points to finish in third place in the final team standings.
On the women's side, Sonja Hanson was the lone representative for Clovis at the CVC Championships. She had top-10 showings in all four of her events, swimming to seventh place in the 50 breast (50.76), seventh in the 50 free (36.24), eighth in the 100 breast (1:38.40), and 10th in the 100 free (1:16.24).
Up next for the Crush in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championships on May 5-7 at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park.