Nov. 19, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - It was another record-setting day for the 23rd-ranked San Diego State swim team as the Aztecs set a pair of school records and one Mountain West Conference record at the Arena Invitational in Long Beach, Calif. SDSU swimmers also recorded 17 times that will go into the record book among the top 10 in school history.
After the first two days of the three-day Invitational, San Diego State stands in third place (of 19 teams). The Aztecs trail 5th-ranked California by just 21 points for second place with No. 1 Stanford solidly entrenched in first. SDSU holds a substantial lead over 24th-ranked UCLA and is also ahead of four other teams that are receiving votes in the latest national poll.
In the 100 breaststroke, Katelyn Weddle went 1:00.29 to finish second of 70 athletes in that event. Her time established new school and conference record as she improved on the standard she set as a freshman during the 2009-10 season. Freshman Mikaela Macklin's mark of 1:05.26 in the prelims is the seventh-best time ever for an Aztec swimmer as well.
San Diego State picked up a fourth place result (of 43 entries) in the 200 medley relay as the team of Leona Jennings, Katelyn Weddle, Kim Bierwith and Stephanie Koch went 1:40.74, the second-fastest time in school history and an NCAA B qualifying mark. Jenning's leadoff time of 53.92 in the 100 back qualifies as a new SDSU record, bettering the time of 54.22 that she set last season.
SDSU's other 200 medley relay quartets also had time that ranks among the SDSU all-time top 10. The No. 5 time of 1:44.18 was turned in by Shaida Solimani, Mikaela Macklin, Brooke Vessey and Emilee Jennings while the team of Allison Stuhr, Natalie Meltzer, Olivia Sefton and Shannon Bray went 1:47.06 fro the ninth-best mark.
The Aztecs' top finisher in the 400 individual medley was sophomore Melanie Garibaldi, who time of 4:22.69 ranks second on the school record list. Other top 10 times were set by Berklie Oscarson (4:24.11 - 3rd), Lauren Parrett (4:25.22 - 4th) Mikaela Macklin (4:28.40 - 6th) and Allison Hall (4:30.87 - 10th).
In the 100 butterfly, Macklin's time of 56.03 in the prelims goes into the SDSU record book as the third best while Kim Bierwith (56.33) and Maureen Cardwell (56.90) ranks fifth and eighth respectively.
San Diego State had a pair of top10 finishes in the 200 freestyle with Stephanie Koch taking seventh and Kelly Marquenie placing 10th (of 106 entries). Koch's time of 1:47.93 goes down as the second-fastest in Aztec history while Marquenie's time ranks third. In addition, a 1:52.53 by Melanie Garibaldi in the prelims is the eight-best.
The Aztecs captured four of the top 15 places in the 100 backstroke led by Leona Jennings in third (54.54). Other top Aztec results belonged to Bierwith (11th - 56.38), Solimani (12th - 56.39) and Stuhr (15th - 57.20). Solimani turned in a 56.18 in the prelim and goes into the SDSU top10 list with the seventh-best time.
The day's final event was the 800 free relay and the team of Marquenie, Koch, Meghan Zimmer and Garibaldi touched the wall in 7:25.81. The time was the second-fastest in school history and earned them a 5th-place finish (of 28 entries).
Women's prelims for the final six events at the Arena Invitational will commence at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with finals set to begin at 6:00 p.m. To view live results and well as complete results from Thursday and Friday click here.
The team standings after the second day of the Arena Invitational are as follows:
1. Stanford..........1144 2. California.........553 3. San Diego State....532 4. Arizona State....478.5 5. UNLV.............356.5 6. UCLA...............343 7. San Jose State.....325 8. Oregon State.......307 9. Brigham Young......23410. UC Santa Barbara...20111. Utah...............18412. UC San Diego.......18213. Hawai'i............18114. Fresno State.......12915. Colorado State.....12616. San Diego..........11017. Loyola Marymount....9518. CS Bakersfield......5619. UC Davis............32
AZTECS AT WILDCAT DIVING INVITATIONAL
While the SDSU swimmers are competing at the Arena Invitational, the Aztec divers are in Tucson, Ariz., where they are participating in the three-day Wildcat Diving Invitational which got underway today at the University of Arizona.
A total of 60 divers competed in today's 3-meter event which was won by Aubrey Bush of the New Mexico with 313.05 points.
San Diego State's top finisher was junior Kristen Meier, who placed 28th with 225.60 points. Other Aztec scores included junior Aina Eill with 181.45 points and freshman Anna Steiner with172.85.
The diving invitational continues on Saturday with the women's one-meter diving set to get underway at 11:30 a.m. at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center on the Arizona campus.