SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State swim and dive program continued its busy week on Thursday with a split squad competing at two meets. Aztec swimmers surged into first place at the Trailblazer Invitational in St. George, Utah, while a contingent of divers saw action on the 1-meter springboard on the first day of the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.
SDSU’s swimming delegation logged two victories at Utah Tech’s Human Performance Center Pool to go with six additional top five placements. Thanks to their performances, the Aztecs vaulted to the top of the team standings through six events with 318 points, while UC San Diego sits in second with 289 points, followed by Fresno State (264 pts), UC Davis (224 pts), host Utah Tech (102 pts), California Baptist (81), San Diego (71) and Pacific (44).
San Diego State set the tone for the day after winning the 200 freestyle relay, where the foursome of Alyssa Schiller, Alli Mann, Abby Storm and Kaydence Bispo completed the race at 1:30.11, shaving over three seconds of its seed time (1:33.74).
In addition, the Aztecs’ “B” entry of Liv Peebles, Melanie Quinto, Moa Bergdahl and Camille Seiley finished fourth with a clocking of 1:31.92.
SDSU boasted the top three competitors in the 50 freestyle, highlighted by Bispo’s winning sprint of 22.77, which equaled a career best, while Mann and Schiller tied for second after both swimmers touched the wall at 22.84.
Earlier in the 500 freestyle, Reka Nyiradi took third with a swim of 4:54.78, just missing a collegiate best by 0.11 seconds.
The Aztecs also received a third-place effort from Bergdahl in the 200 individual medley after clocking in at 2:00.89, while Grace Mering followed in fifth at 2:01.68, as both swimmers recorded season-best performances.
Elsewhere in “B” final action, Amber Janky won the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.93, while Storm (23.22) and Seiley (23.26) contributed to SDSU’s point-total after placing third and fourth in the 50 free, respectively.
Down in Flagstaff, three San Diego State divers placed among the top 10 in the finals of the 1-meter springboard at Wall Aquatic Center on the campus of Northern Arizona.
Isabella Gomez (279.05) and Alina Skrocki (267.30) both surpassed NCAA zone qualifying standards with season-high scores to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, while Meja Palmer (232.85) placed 10th.
Both meets continue for the Aztecs on Friday, with the swimming delegation competing in the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke, along with the finals of the 400 medley relay. Preliminaries are slated to begin at 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT, while finals are scheduled for a 5 p.m. start (4 p.m. PT).
In addition, SDSU divers will see action on the 3-meter springboard, starting with the preliminary round at 10:30 a.m. MT/9:30 a.m. PT.
