For the sixth year in a row, the Ventura Pirates men’s swim team finished the season on top of the conference but came up short in the state championships for the third straight year, finishing second.

“Being second in the state is a wonderful thing,” said Ventura College athletics director Nancy Fredrickson. “They did an outstanding job.”

The Pirates scored 434 points and fell just short of Diablo Valley’s 488 points, clinching them the state championship.

The women’s swim team finished third in the state, only 0.01 seconds out of second place.

“We won conference and we broke a lot of records,” said head coach Larry Baratte. “The kids had a great experience.”

Rafael Aponte, who was the Western State Conference swimmer of the year, won the 100-yard freestyle and helped the team finish in second in the 400 freestyle relays.

Fredrickson went on to say that anytime one of the schools’ teams finishes in the top five in state, “is a real honor.”