Men's Swimming has been a powerhouse for decades and, even in a pandemic they demonstrated, a champion's drive. The Cougars opened their abbreviated 2021 season on Saturday by hosting a four-team mini-meet against Allan Hancock, Mt San Antonio and Bakersfield. The men won nine of the meet's 19 events and, with the recent influx of water polo players, were especially strong in the freestyle competition. Two familiar faces led the Cougars- 2020 Cuesta College George Silveria Career Student-Athlete Award Winner Gabe Browning and Satoshi Shinkawa, the son of 2020 Cuesta Alberta Deutsche Fan of the Year Stephanie Shinkawa. Both Browning and Shinkawa sat out water polo and, for the first time, have spent the whole year training for swimming. The hard work paid off as the duo combined to win four of the Cougars' nine individual titles on the day. Browning is chasing his fourth All American Award* and looking to join 1999 Cuesta Athlete of the Year Chris Lund as the only other four-time All American in Cuesta History. On Saturday, he won the 200-freestyle (1:47.38) and swam leadoff in the Cougars' meet clinching 400-freestyle Relay. Shinkawa was the 2020 Cuesta Swim & Dive Team's MVP and won three individual events on Saturday- 100-butterfly (:53.47), 200-butterfly (2:01.01) and 200-individual medley (2:05.06). Of course, a season of water polo did not hurt Lucas Esenwein, who also won two events, while trying a school record. Esenwein tied two-time State Champion Jeff Dacus's 1999 Cuesta College 50-freestyle record with a winning time of :20.86. Dacus is one of three Cuesta records left over from the past century, including the previously mentioned Chris Lund's 200-butterfly record, which Shinkawa is directly behind, and Casey Lyon's 1994 500-freestyle mark. Esenwein also claimed the 100-freestyle (:47.09), while teammates Layne Porter and Kiran Heidler won the 50-backstroke (:28.27) and 500-freestyle (5:04.28), respectively.
COMING UP- The Aqua-Cats host another mini-meet this Saturday (11:30).
*JC All American Awards represent the Top 16 times in each event from both the NJCAA and the CCCAA. Browning's 2020 time in the 50-freestyle ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the shutdown, but was not recognized as official after the season was suspended.
