China’s Cheung, Peng excel for Pasadena City College swim team
By Keith Lair, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
PASADENA >> The two packages from China to the Pasadena City College swim team came full of surprises.
Shannon Cheung and Connie Peng came to the Lancers through different routes, but each has blossomed into one of the best swimmers in the school's history. Cheung was supposed to be a sprinter. She has become a distance swimmer. Peng was just a so-so swimmer at Arcadia High School last year and is now one of the top California community college swimmers.
Both swimmers broke 14-year-old South Coast Conference records at last weekend's meet at Mt. SAC and both are among the favorites to become the first PCC swimmer to win an individual state title at next week's CCCAA meet at East L.A. College.
"We were not trying to set records," Pasadena coach Terry Stoddard said of the conference meet. "A couple of them were a surprise. We were trying to win races; we were trying to make state. The records came, but I knew they were capable of this."
Cheung, a sophomore, set a conference record in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17 minutes, 42.91 seconds, her first time swimming the event this season and the fastest time heading into the state meet. She beat the previous record by 3.15 seconds and produced three PCC school records in the process. Her opening split of 5:06.26 is a school record for 500 yards and her 10:27.05 set a school record in the 1,000 free.
"It's nice setting records, but I'm not fixated on that," she said. "For me, I want to swim a good race. Whatever my time is, that's my best and if it's faster than the record that's great."
Peng broke a 14-year-old conference record when she won the 100 backstroke in 58.09 seconds, the fastest time in the state. She also set a school record in the 100 butterfly in 58.57 seconds, the first Lancer women's swimmer to break a minute in the event.
"It was unexpected," she said. "It was surprising because I had never been that fast before, not even in China."
Cheung, who lives in Pasadena, grew up in South Pasadena and then moved to Hong Kong when she was 11. She returned to Pasadena to compete for PCC. She was a sprinter until this season.
"It's two different worlds, really," she said. "I surprised myself by making the change. At the beginning I really resisted it. I didn't want to go there.
"But I think I'd seen my sprinting was not going to be where I wanted it to be. I figured I would try something else and maybe excel in another area. When I started working on distances, (the other swimmers) were like what are you doing in our lanes?"
Stoddard said Cheung saw the sprint handwriting on the proverbial wall.
"She convinced herself," he said. "I knew she could be that good (in the distances) right from the beginning."
Peng grew up in China and moved to Arcadia last year to live with her father. She swam for Arcadia last season, making the consolation finals at the CIF-Southern Section meet.
"I feel practice here is totally different than in China," she said. "Here, from my heart, I wanted to swim. So I follow what coach wants me to do."
Stoddard said he saw her potential in her first PCC workout.
"It's taken awhile to have her blossom into a believer," he said. "I've been trying to tell her she could win. After she went under one minute for the first time she came out and said, 'The suit works; the suit works.'
"I said, 'No, it's you.' It kind of opened the floodgates and we're starting to see what she's capable of doing."
The pair were selected conference swimmers of the year and each will swim in three events at state. Cheung earned the honor for the second consecutive year, the first Lancer female to accomplish the feat.
Cheung also has the fastest qualifying time in the 200 individual medley and the No. 2 time in the 500 free. Peng has the fourth-fastest time in the 50 back and the second-fastest time in the 100 fly.
"No doubt this is our strongest team," Stoddard said. "We strive every day to make hard work normal and to enjoy the rewards when the results are good."