Aztec Swim and Dive Shines on Day One at Gary Ota Memorial Invite
Bolstered by seven first-place finishes, the San Diego State swim and dive program vaulted to the top of the team standings at the Gary Ota Memorial Invitational on Friday at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
FRESNO, Calif. – Bolstered by seven first-place finishes, the San Diego State swim and dive program vaulted to the top of the team standings at the Gary Ota Memorial Invitational on Friday at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
In all, the Aztecs racked up 693.50 points on day one of the meet after collecting seven gold, three silver and two bronze medals, while Houston (628 pts) sits in the second position, followed by host Fresno State (433 pts), UC Davis (311 pts) and San José State (274.50 pts).
Individually, Alli Mann established a pool record in the 100 fly with a winning time of 53.00 and helped set another facility standard in 800 freestyle relay, where she anchored the victorious combo of Kaydence Bispo, Ginger Kiefer and Melanie Quinto, who clocked in at 7:18.13.
In addition, Mann swam the fly segment of SDSU’s triumphant 200 medley relay, which included Quinto, Roni Black and Alyssa Schiller, who topped the field with a successful effort of 1:39.36, edging Fresno State (1:39.72) in a thrilling finish.
Bispo impressed with a victory in the 200 freestyle as well, where she logged a collegiate-fast swim of 1:46.54, which ranks second in program history, while Mann placed second in the event at 1:48.65. Bispo was also the Scarlet and Black’s top competitor in the 500 freestyle, where she completed the race with an Aztec career-best time of 4:58.40.
Not to be outdone, the SDSU cause was advanced by Kiefer, who claimed an event title in the 400 individual medley, where she touched the wall at 4:18.58, while Amber Janky (4:19.89) was slotted fourth.
The Aztecs flashed their tremendous depth with four of the top five finishers in the 50 freestyle, where Alyssa Schiller (22.52) edged Bispo (22.54) for the crown, while Camille Seiley (22.67) was slotted fourth in an exciting sprint, followed by Mann (22.71).
Other highlights for San Diego State featured a diving crown on the 3-meter springboard by Isabella Gomez, who surpassed an NCAA zone qualifying standard with 286.50 points, while Alina Skrocki (259.75) and Sophia Hineline (244.60) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Belen Cano was the Aztecs’ top diver on the 1-meter springboard, where she compiled a second-place score of 272.00, while Gomez (266.95) and Skrocki (252.80) occupied the third and fourth positions in the standings, respectively.
Elsewhere, Elisa Branca took fourth in the 100 breaststroke after recording a swim of 1:01.53, while SDSU’s 800 freestyle “B” relay team of Grace Mering, Seiley, Janky and Sierra Tallman combined for a fourth-place clocking of 7:29.00.
Mering also placed fifth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.88, while Charlotte Sevin was slotted fifth in the 100 fly at 54.74.
San Diego State concludes its visit to the Central Valley on Saturday with the final session of the Gary Ota Memorial Invitational, which gets underway at 10 a.m. PT with the 400 medley relay. A total of eight swimming events will be contested to wrap up the meet, including the 100 IM, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 fly, 1,650 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay.