Aztecs Roll Past USD in Season-Opening Pentathlon Meet
If Friday's results are any indication, San Diego State swimmers can look forward to another successful campaign in 2026-27 after their dominating performance against the University of San Diego in the annual season-opening pentathlon meet between the two squads at USD Sports Center Pool.
SAN DIEGO – If Friday's results are any indication, San Diego State swimmers can look forward to another successful campaign in 2026-27 after their dominating performance against the University of San Diego in the annual season-opening pentathlon meet between the two squads at USD Sports Center Pool.
The Aztecs topped the Toreros by a 33-24 count on the team scoreboard, capturing the 15th straight meeting against their crosstown adversaries in pentathlon competition dating back to 2011.
SDSU won 10 of 11 races on the day, boasting the top-three finishers in nine of those competitions.
The Aztecs featured the top seven pentathlon swimmers, including sophomore Melanie Quinto, who claimed the individual title with a combined time of 4:56.62, besting junior Liv Peebles (4:57.21) and sophomore Sierra Tallman (4:59.99), while senior transfer Ginger Kiefer (5:00.58) and defending champion Roni Black (5:01.01) rounded out the top five.
In addition, sophomore Amber Janky (5:02.46) was slotted sixth in the final standings, finishing ahead of junior Elisa Branca (5:07.54), who took seventh, while freshman Ava Haese (5:12.28) landed in the 10th spot.
Junior Alli Mann emerged victorious in two of the four pentathlon events she swam, including the 100 free, where she touched the wall at 51.23, topping Kaydence Bispo, who clocked in at 51.69, while Quinto was a close third at 51.76.
A seven-time all-conference honoree last spring, Mann also paced the field in the 100 fly with a time of 56.42, while Tallman (57.02) edged Janky (57.72) for second place.
Other pentathlon event winners included Peebles (56.85) in the 100 back, where she finished ahead of Quinto (57.32) and Kiefer (58.40), while Black (1:04.22) was triumphant in the 100 breast, where Branca (1:05.81) and Quinto (1:07.96) were slotted second and third, respectively.
Shortly thereafter in the 100 medley, Kiefer (59.28) squeaked by Peebles (59.29) at the wall in a thrilling finish, while Janky took third.
In head-to-head scoring, points were awarded to only to the top three finishers from each squad on a 12-11-10-9-8-7 basis.
The teams swam additional races at USD on Friday. These events were not scored in the final results but gave both the Aztecs and Toreros benchmarks to continue their early season training with.
Mann (24.14) sprinted to victory in the 50 free, edging Alyssa Schiller (24.20), while Bispo finished the event in third (24.37).
Mann continued her winning ways with another event title in the 50 fly, where she touched the wall at 26.57, just ahead of second-place Camille Seiley (26.66), while Alex Downing (26.83) was a close third.
The Aztecs grabbed the top-three spots as well in the 50 back, where Quinto topped the field with a time of 26.98, followed by Downing (27.65) and Charlotte Sevin (28.06).
Similarly, Black (29.61) was triumphant in the 50 breast, cruising past Branca (30.55) and Bispo (31.47).
Rounding out the meet was Tallman’s victory in the 500 free, where she completed the race at 5:09.83, while Kiefer placed second in the 400 IM with a clocking of 4:29.70.
San Diego State returns to action in two weeks when it renews acquaintances with the Toreros in another dual meet at USD Sports Center Pool on Friday, Oct. 2, beginning at 2 p.m.