Aztecs Finish Second at Fresno State Invitational

FRESNO, Calif. – Buoyed by nine top-five finishes on Saturday, the San Diego State swimming and diving program wrapped up the Fresno State Invitational with a second-place team finish among six participating institutions at Fresno State Aquatics Center.

The Aztecs maintained their grip on the second position with a two-day total of 920 points, trailing only UCLA's aggregate of 1,097.50 points, while the host Bulldogs (712.5 pts) took third took third, followed by Washington State (696 pts), San José State (340 pts) and Hawai’i (126 pts).

With its tally, the Scarlet and Black has placed second in all eight appearances at the Fresno State Invitational since 2016.

Diver Valentina Lopez Arevalo captured her second event title of the weekend after winning 1-meter springboard with 263.10 points, while Reka Nyiradi logged a pair of second-place swims in the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly.

In addition, SDSU’s top squad in the 400 medley relay tied for second, as the foursome of Liv Peebles, Moa Bergdahl, Alli Mann and Kaydence Bispo completed the race at 3:45.45, matching Washington State’s effort.

In the 200 back, Nyiradi clocked in at 2:00.30, missing her third crown of the meet by just 0.40 seconds after UCLA’s Rosie Murphy touched the wall at 1:59.90. Additionally, the Aztecs received a sixth-place performance from Peebles (2:04.85), while Abby Storm (11th, 2:06.55) and Grace Mering (13th) contributed to SDSU’s point-total in the event.

Later, Nyiradi finished a solid second in the 200 fly with a time of 2:02.38, while teammate Charlotte Sevin took third at 2:04.50, followed by Emily Tenczar, who just missed the top 10 after and 11th-place swim of 2:10.42.

Not to be outdone, Nyiradi swam the third leg of the Aztecs’ “A” team in the 400 freestyle relay, joining forces with Bispo, Mann and Bergdahl for a third-place effort of 3:27.03.

Elsewhere, Mai McKenna was slotted third in the 100 individual medley after touching the wall at 58.16, while Bergdahl finished 11th in the race with a swim of 1:00.71.

As the morning progressed, Mann placed fourth in the 100 freestyle after clocking in at 51.07, while Bispo took 12th in the event with a time of 52.49.

The Aztecs subsequently recorded four top-10 swims in the 1,650 freestyle, led by Summer West, who finished fourth after covering the distance in 17:49.45, while Elsa Fullerton (8th, 18:20.68), Eva Allan (9th, 18.27.52) and Mering (10th, 18:28.40) added to the Scarlet and Black’s point-total as well.

The Aztecs additionally featured two top-10 competitors in the 200 breaststroke, where Bergdahl completed the race at 2:19.47, while Elisa Branca was slotted ninth with a time of 2:23.42.

Along with Lopez Arevalo’s crown on the 1-meter board, SDSU received an eighth-place finish from Summer Westmoreland (222.90 pts), while Alina Skrocki placed 10th (206.75 pts).

San Diego State returns to action next weekend when it travels north to the Last Frontier to face the Alaska Nanooks in a pair of dual meets on consecutive days, Oct. 11-12, at Patty Center Pool in Fairbanks, Alaska.

-SDSU-