Aztecs Lead after Day One at Fresno State Invite
The San Diego State swim and dive program took over the lead among five schools participating at the Fresno State Invitational, completing the first two sessions of the meet on Friday with 564.50 points at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
FRESNO, Calif. – The San Diego State swim and dive program took over the lead among five schools participating at the Fresno State Invitational, completing the first two sessions of the meet on Friday with 564.50 points at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
Through 13 events, the Aztecs vaulted past the second-place Bulldogs (549 pts), while Air Force occupies the third position (504 pts), followed by Washington State (442 pts) and San José State (178 pts) in a meet featuring five Mountain West swimming and diving members.
SDSU captured four event titles in the evening docket, including Reka Nyiradi, who emerged triumphant in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:18.06. The Aztec junior also swam the second leg of the Aztecs’ victorious 800 freestyle relay team, joining forces with Alli Mann, Moa Bergdahl and Kaydence Bispo for a winning performance of 7:27.55.
Mann took center stage with a victory in the 100 butterfly to lead off the session, touching the wall at 55.50, while Storm was slotted sixth in the event at 56.80, followed by Sierra Tallman, who tied for eighth (56.83).
Not to be outdone, Storm claimed a gold medal in the 100 backstroke after completing the race with a time of 54.46, while Liv Peebles (57.25) took seventh, followed by Alex Downing (58.08), who finished in the 10th spot.
The late session also featured a second-place effort in the 100 breaststroke by Bergdahl, who clocked in at 1:01.54, while Roni Black (1:03.82) and Elisa Branca (1:04.13) contributed to the Aztecs’ point-total after placing ninth and 10th, respectively.
In addition, Bispo finished fourth in the 200 freestyle after completing the race at 1:52.22, while Tallman followed in sixth with a swim of 1:53.14.
SDSU’s midday results featured a trio of second-place performances, including the 500 freestyle, where Nyiradi completed a swim of 4:58.24, narrowly missing an individual crown by 0.21 seconds, while Bispo finished 10th at 5:05.87.
The Aztec foursome of Alyssa Schiller, Camille Seiley, Mann and Bergdahl combined for a second-place time of 1:33.74 in the 200 freestyle relay, while the Scarlet and Black’s 200 medley relay “A” team of unlisted personnel led off the day with a second-place clocking of 1:41.93, falling short of the crown by 0.16 seconds.
SDSU’s trademark depth was on display in the 200 individual medley, where three swimmers placed among the top 10, including Black, who finished fourth with a swim of 2:04.49, while Bergdahl took fifth after touching the wall at 2:05.31, followed by Tallman, who was slotted eighth at 2:06.58.
Similarly, the Aztecs featured a trio of top-10 competitors in the 50 freestyle, including Schiller, who took third with a sprint of 23.14, while Mann was slotted fifth at 23.52, followed by Storm, who finished 10th at 23:97.
In addition to SDSU’s aforementioned second-place effort in the 200 free relay, the Aztecs’ ‘B’ team of Bispo, Storm, Peebles and Tallman finished the early session with a fifth-place finish in the event with a clocking of 1:35.70.
The Scarlet and Black also participated in two diving events on Friday. Isabella Gomez, a transfer from New Mexico, was the SDSU’s highest finisher in 3-meter action, compiling a fifth-place score of 267.35, while Alina Skrocki landed in the eighth spot with 244.00 points, followed by Sophia Hineline, who took 10th after racking up 242.60 points.
Later in the evening, Gomez (248.15) edged out Skrocki (248.00) for fifth place on the 1-meter board, while Hineline (9th, 226.20) and Lucy Chavez (10th, 224.75) also landed in the top 10.
San Diego State concludes its visit to the Central Valley on Saturday with the final session of the Fresno State Invitational, which gets underway at 10 a.m. PT with the 400 medley relay. A total of seven swimming events will be contested to wrap up the meet.