Aztecs Prepare For Two Meets This Week

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State swim and dive program will split its squad for a pair of meets this week when Aztec swimmers compete at the Trailblazer Invitational in St. George, Utah, Nov. 19-22. In addition, select divers will head to the Grand Canyon State for the first installment of the Lumberjack Invitational, Nov. 20-22, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Along with host Utah Tech, SDSU swimmers will battle fellow Mountain West member Fresno State, joining crosstown adversaries San Diego and UC San Diego, as well as California Baptist, Pacific and UC Davis.

The four-day Trailblazer Invite commences on Wednesday at the Human Performance Center Pool with the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay, starting at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT.

The final three days of the meet will consist of preliminary and finals sessions, which get underway at 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT and 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT, respectively.

Thursday’s schedule features the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle and finals of the 200 freestyle relay, while Friday’s docket includes the 100 butterfly, 400 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, along with the finals of the 400 medley relay.

The action-packed invitational concludes on Saturday with the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly, as well as the finals of the 1,650 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay.

Meanwhile, a contingent of six SDSU divers are slated participate at the Lumberjack Invitational, including junior transfer Isabella Gomez and fellow classmate Alina Skrocki, along with sophomore Keira Kuderka and freshmen Lucy Chavez, Sophia Hineline and Meja Palmer.

The Aztecs will battle divers from host Northern Arizona, UC Davis and UT Rio Grande Valley, starting on Thursday with the 1-meter springboard competition, while Friday’s slate features the 3-meter springboard event, before the meet wraps up on Saturday from the platform height.

The preliminary round is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. MT/9:30 a.m. PT on all three days at Wall Aquatic Center in Flagstaff.

San Diego State has been idle since Nov. 1 when it defeated host California Baptist (267.50 to 117.50) and UC Santa Barbara (214.50 to 164.50) in a double dual meet at Lancer Aquatics Center in Riverside, California.

With their results, the Aztecs have won 80 consecutive dual meets dating back to Jan. 8, 2018, a span of nearly eight years.

Abby Storm took home two individual crowns at the CBU meet, posting a season-fast swim of 1:56.27 in the 200 backstroke, which leads the Mountain West, while her season-best clocking of 52.95 in the 100 backstroke ranks second.

In addition, Storm joined forces with Moa Bergdahl, Alli Mann and Alyssa Schiller on SDSU’s victorious 400 medley relay that posted the fastest time in the conference this season at 3:35.95, which ranks eighth in program history. Storm also teamed with Bergdahl, Schiller and Sierra Tallman on the Aztecs’ winning 200 medley relay team that logged the third-best time in the league thus far at 1:40.57.

Elsewhere, Reka Nyiradi captured the 200 individual medley (2:01.41) and placed second in the 200 butterfly (1:57.95) and 500 freestyle (4:54.67), setting career-fast times in all three events. Nyiradi’s efforts in the 200 fly and 200 IM are currently slotted second in the conference, while her 500 free clocking ranks sixth. Additionally, she climbed into second on the school’s all-time charts with her result in the 200 fly.

Not to be outdone, Mann was triumphant in a pair of events, recording collegiate-best performances in the 100 freestyle (49.44) and 100 butterfly (53.52), both of which rank fourth in the MW this week and seventh in school history.

Elisa Branca also emerged victorious in the 200 breaststroke with career-fast time of 2:14.40, which is currently slotted fifth in the conference

In diving competition, Gomez won both the 1-meter (252.25) and 3-meter events (293.35) at the CBU meet, the latter of which surpassed an NCAA zone qualifying standard.

Following this weekend's meets, Aztec divers will be back in action next month at the Riverside Diving Invitational, Dec. 18-20, in Riverside, California.

San Diego State will return to action for a full squad on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, when it plays host to Vanderbilt and San Diego in a double dual meet at Aztec Aquaplex.