Orange Coast Holds off Golden West for OEC Men’sSwim Title
The Orange Coast College Pirates won the 2025 Orange Empire Conference swim title on Saturday at Saddleback College. The Pirates held off a charge from Golden West College in capturing the title.
Orange Coast now becomes one of the favorites at the 3C2A State Championships at the beginning of May in Santa Rosa. The Orange Empire Conference (OEC) has long been one of the top conferences in the state in men's swimming, winning 14 state titles since the beginning of the century and 33 total titles since the sport was introduced in 1948. From 1990 to 2001 the conference never lost a state title, with Golden West winning nine titles and Orange Coast winning three over a 12-year span.
Orange Coast won the 2025 OEC crown with depth as the Pirates won just two individual races and two relay events all weekend. Golden West made a vicious charge in the afternoon and had a brief lead heading into the last few events before the Pirate depth took over the meet.
Golden West had five individual wins for the meet. Three of the wins were turned in by Jake M. Kiss, who was named the Swimmer-of-the-Meet. Cypress College's Niccolo Scornaienghi was named the Diver-of-the-Meet. Riverside City led the meet with six individual wins and two relay wins.
Team Scores:
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Orange Coast | 852 |
| Golden West | 811 |
| Riverside City | 650 |
| Cypress | 325 |
| Saddleback | 289 |
| Event | Winner | Team | Time/Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Freestyle Relay | — | Riverside City | 1:24.00 |
| 500 Freestyle | Ryan Novak | Golden West | 4:34.39 |
| 200 Individual Medley | Jake M. Kiss | Golden West | 1:53.42 |
| 50 Freestyle | Yousef Nahali | Riverside City | 20.62 |
| 400 Medley Relay | — | Orange Coast | 3:31.55 |
| 3-Meter Diving | Niccolo Scornaienghi | Cypress | 262.45 |
| 200 Medley Relay | — | Riverside City | 1:30.68 |
| 400 Individual Medley | Jake M. Kiss | Golden West | 4:02.60 |
| 100 Butterfly | Zekiah Serrano | Riverside City | 48.75 |
| 200 Freestyle | Gavin McNeal | Orange Coast | 1:43.89 |
| 100 Breaststroke | Jared Ladinez | Riverside City | 55.42 |
| 100 Backstroke | Lennon Franklin | Riverside City | 50.85 |
| 800 Freestyle Relay | — | Golden West | 6:57.36 |
| 1-Meter Diving | Niccolo Scornaienghi | Cypress | 233.40 |
| 1,650 Freestyle | Ryan Novak | Golden West | 16:02.82 |
| 100 Individual Medley | Zekiah Serrano | Riverside City | 50.90 |
| 200 Backstroke | Jake M. Kiss | Golden West | 1:53.19 |
| 100 Freestyle | Yousef Nahali | Riverside City | 45.55 |
| 200 Breaststroke | Jared Ladinez | Riverside City | 2:06.06 |
| 200 Butterfly | Kevin Li | Orange Coast | 1:53.32 |
| 400 Freestyle Relay | — | Orange Coast | 3:06.41 |
Release by Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback