Mariner Nick Cruse' College of Marin career ended on Friday in Cupertino, but it was an excellent way to go out. The sophomore represented the Mariners in the CCCAA State Championships, competing in the 200 yard and 500-yard free races. He failed to qualify for the finals in the 200 free, but finished in 9th place in the 500 free.
Cruse's best event in 2019 was the 500-yard free and he showed it right off the bat with an excellent time in the prelims. He was sixth in his heat to open the meet with a time of 4:49.46. It was a very fast heat as first place finished almost seven seconds ahead of Cruse.
He showed his consistency in the event final with a similar time but finished one place ahead as Cruse took ninth place and earned nine points for the Mariners. Those nine points placed the College of Marin Men's Swim team above such schools as Cabrillo, Chabot and College of San Mateo.
Cruse swam well in the 200-yard free but just missed out on qualifying for the finals. He swam a time of 1:46.89 in his heat but missed the top 16 by just over one second.
Cruse concluded an excellent swim career at College of Marin that included Bay Valley Swimmer of the Year and two appearances at the State Championships.
The sky, or rather the ocean is certainly the limit for Cruse.