Day 1 Recap
Day One of the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference Championships kicked off today in beautiful Monterey Park, California, at the East Los Angeles Swim Stadium. Today's competition featured eight swimming events as well as the preliminary heats of diving for the Men's 1 Meter and Women's 3 Meter diving events.
It was an East Bay show in the women's 1000 yard freestyle, with the Pioneers taking up half of the top eight spots when the dust settled. Freshman Maggie Clemens took the top honors with a swift 10:06.84. It was her teammate Malana Kollath, also a freshman, in second at a 10:15.38. Azusa Pacific senior Aleena Herrera rounded out the podium in a 10:23.62. The men's event took a similar dominant theme, with Biola occupying five of the top eight placings, led by the trio of Josh Peace (9:15.95), Samuel Slezak (9:27.51), & Noah Hall (9:36.91).
The women's 200 individual medley saw no change in the top seed, as Katherine Dyer defended her position for Master's with a 2:01.71. Azusa secured another podium finish from Angelica Benitez (2:03.00). Alaska's Dorka Dancsok (2:04.24) did just enough to hold of Pioneer Kylie Beaudet (2:05.16) for third. Swimming out of the C-Final, Biola's Malia Ciolli stormed her way to a 2:07.33, which would have placed fifth in the A-Final.
The men's 200 individual medley was another Master's showcase, with ASU Sun Devil turned Mustang Evan Nail narrowly missing the meet record in a dominant 1:47.34. Behind him came two Banana Slugs to fill out the podium. UCSC's Greyson Davies (1:49.04) & Asher Kates (1:51.82) were two of six Santa Cruz swimmers to make the Championship final, a dominant performance for the defending men's champions.
We then moved to the shortest event on the program, the 50 freestyle. The women's event saw a tie on the podium, with East Bay's Tehani Kong tying for bronze with Masters' Megan Sutanto (23.70). Biola's Phoebe Munholland took second, just six hundredths ahead (23.64). It was another freshman win for the Pioneers, as Amaya Rocheleau had the widest margin of any of the placings, a relatively dominant two tenths deficit at a 23.42. The entire Championship final heat was separated by just 44 hundredths of a second. In the B-Final, the Sunbirds senior Jillian Lambert swam a 23.56, a mark that would have earned her a second place finish.
The men's splash 'n' dash was another strong showing by the Banana Slugs, with sophomore Andrew Koika (20.14) & junior Kyle Reitan (20.27) moving up from a second and third place finish last year. The Fresno Pacific Sunbirds secured a podium finish from sophomore August Ottesen's 20.35. The C-final saw strong showings from the College of Idaho Yotes and the Soka Lions, with Matti Eikenes (21.36) touching just three hundredths ahead of Soka's Feliks Czarnecki (21.39). Two hundredths behind them was Ottawa Arizona's Reuben Dobson (21.41).
The final events on the program for the night were the 800 free relays for both men and women. The Master's took another event win on the women's side, with Dyer, Kylee Sears, Sutanto, & Clara Patterson combining to a 7:30.56. Azusa Pacific took the second spot on the podium with the quartet of Sydnee Wilson, Mikaela Maemura, Kya Guikema, and Herrera swimming to a 7:33.40. Rounding out the podium, the East Bay Pioneers' Clemens, Kali Mull, Beaudet, & Malana Kollath combined to a 7:35.84.
The Master's made it a clean sweep of the first two relays, with Izaiah Trevino-Lozano, Nail, Dylan Crane, & Charley Sears slipping under 6:40 in a 6:39.13. UC Santa Cruz took second with Massimo Reyna, Kates, Lucas Blietz, & Bryson Schmid totaling a 6:44.13. Biola continued a strong showing with Koen Vos, Slezak, Ronan Watts, & Alejandro Marchesini touching for a 6:45.82 bronze placing.
Results Update Coming On Day Two
