Athletes of the Week Jan. 14 - 20, 2024

Female Swimmer of the Week

Maddy Gruender, Senior, UC Santa Cruz

Maddy had a great meet on Saturday in the Slugs' win over Simpson. The meet was highlighted by breaking the school record in the 100 backstroke in a time of 57.80, which stands as 7th best in the PCSC this season.  She followed that up by blasting a 52.62 in the 100 free, winning the event.  She also led off the 200 mixed medley relay in a personal best in the 50 back in a time of 27.45.

Female Diver of the Week

Eliana Cote, Senior, Biola University

Eliana punched her ticket to the NCAA qualification meet on Saturday with her 6-dive score of 283.50 

Female Freshmen of the Week

Lydia Hawthorne, Loyola Marymount University

Lydia had a great weekend at the WCC Cup Invite despite the rain and colder conditions. She placed 3rd in the 400IM with a time of 4:43.43, currently placing her 15th in the PCSC. In addition, she placed 2nd in the 200 fly with a 2:09.92, which currently puts her 12th in the PCSC for that event.

Male Divers of the Week

Joel Akey, Senior, UC Santa Cruz

Joel had his top performance of the season on both the 1m board, and the 3m board, winning both boards.

Click on THIS LINK to view Joel's individual award post. 

Caleb Wenz, Sophomore, Biola University

After practicing for just 4 weeks with diving, Caleb competed for the 1st time on 1m and completed all his dives for a 3rd place finish at dual meet vs. The Master’s University.

Click HERE to view Caleb's individual award post.

Male Swimmer of the Week

Luke Scanlon, Junior, UC Santa Cruz

Luke won three events in the Slugs' win over Simpson on Saturday, including a lifetime best in the 200 free in a time of 1:44.79, which is 14th in the PCSC this year.  He also won the 200 breast in a lifetime best of 2:17.38.  And finally, he won the 400 IM in a time of 4:14.32.  He also swam a split of 49.17 on the second-place mixed 400 free relay.