Cuesta Men's Swim & Dive won its first Western State Conference Mini Meet last Friday in Santa Clarita to officially open its conference schedule.  The Cougars won eight of 13 events and never took less than second in any event.  Their 176 total points were more than both 2nd place Allan Hancock and 3rd place Santa Monica, who compiled 88 and 85 points, combined.  2021 Cuesta Male Athlete of the Year Lucas Esenwein tied with Returning Freshman Ethan Perry and True Freshman Andrew Lopez with 16 individual points, as they each won an event and took 2nd in another.  Esenwein opened the meet by getting touched out by .07 in the 200-Freestyle, but later crushed the competition by nearly a second and an half in the 100-freestyle.  Perry cruised to victory in the 200-individual medley (2:08.01) and took 2nd in the 200-backstroke, while Lopez won the 100-butterfly (:57.13) and took second in the 50-freestyle (:23.11).  Perry's brother Stash Perry joined Caleb Ray with 15 points as they each claimed a title and 3rd place finish.  Perry won the 1650-Free (10:30.49), just 16 seconds ahead of third-place Ray, but finished behind his brother for 3rd in the 200 IM.  Ray was better in the shorter distance and won the 500-freestyle (5:11.91).  The Cougars also swept the relays. 

Cuesta Aquatics will compete in the three-day Mt San Antonio College Invitational this weekend in Walnut.  The Mt SAC Invite is the first of three major invitational meets the Cougars will compete in this season, including the Cuesta Arena Invitational in mid-March.