The Cougars hosted the 44th Arena Swim & Dive Invitational last week and for the third time in four years the meet was shutdown.  Last weekend like in 2020, the swimmers completed the first day of competition, before word arrived that the rest of the meet would be cancelled.  In 2020 the meet was halted due to Covid and this year it was the weather.  The meet, which began in 1979, was also cancelled in 2021 as part of the shutdown.  Last year, the meet rebounded with 20 teams and just shy of 400 swimmers but was well short of the meet's zenith of more than 40 teams and over 1,000 individual entries.  Cuesta's men are the meet's defending champion as part of their undefeated regular season, before landing in 3rd at the 2022 CCCAA State Championships.  The women took 4th at the invitational in 2022 but improved to also take 3rd as a team at the CCCAA State Meet. 

The Cougars have not competed in a full meet in a month, the WSC Mini Meet on February 17, but hope to be back in the lanes this Saturday for a Western State Conference Mini-Meet at Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys.  The Arena Invitational was the Cougars only scheduled home meet for the 2023 season, their next four meets, leading up to the 2023 CCCAA State Championships on the first weekend of May, are all away from their home lanes.