Crush men 2nd, women 4th at CVC Championships; qualify 5 individuals, 4 relays for state

Matt Chen and Nicola Saito led the Crush at the Central Valley Conference Championships.
Matt Chen and Nicola Saito led the Crush at the Central Valley Conference Championships.
April 22, 2026

MERCED – An impressive 2026 Clovis Community College swim & dive season is approaching completion, but the Crush will have one last chance to shine when they compete at the 3C2A State Championships in Costa Mesa on April 30-May 2.

The Crush began the postseason with solid performances at the Northern California Diving Championships and the Central Valley Conference Championships.

NorCal Diving Championships / State Qualifier — April 11
Four Crush divers traveled to the Northern California Diving Championships, which doubled as the state qualifying meet, and the program came away with a state berth and strong showings across the board.
Zachary Zamudio placed 8th on the 1-meter board and qualified for the State Meet. Lake McQuoid finished 10th and was named the second alternate. Paige Thomas and Makayla Chavarria also competed for Clovis.

Central Valley Conference Championships — April 16–18 | Merced
The Crush made noise at the CVC Championships in Merced, tallying 13 first-place finishes across individual events and relays. Matt Chen and Nicola Saito led the charge, each claiming seven gold medals — four in individual events and three on relay teams.

Matt Chen was recognized with the conference's top individual honor, earning CVC Men's Swimmer of the Year.

The men's squad swept the relay events, winning the 200 Medley Relay (tied with College of the Sequoias), the 400 Medley Relay, and the 400 Free Relay. The medley relay teams featured Saito, Behr Cordero, Chen, and Sylas Maurin, while the free relay was made up of Saito, Chen, Andrew Garza, and Maurin.

The men's team placed 2nd overall and the women's team placed fourth.

3C2A State Championships — April 30–May 2 | Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa
Clovis sends one of its strongest state delegations in program history, with individual qualifiers across the pool and four relay teams making the field.

Individual qualifiers:
Matt Chen: 200 IM, 100 Breast, 200 Breast
Nicola Saito: 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 Back
Behr Cordero: 100 Breast
Sylas Maurin: 100 IM, 50 Free, 100 Breast
Zachary Zamudio: 1-meter Diving

Relay teams qualified: 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 400 Free Relay, 800 Medley Relay