Aztecs Swimmers Sink USD in Distance Meet, 79-64

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State’s Alli Mann captured two individual event titles on Friday to lead Aztec swimmers to a 79-64 triumph over the University of San Diego in a distance dual meet at USD Sports Center Pool.

The Aztecs emerged victorious in eight scheduled events, posting at least the top two finishers in five of those races to defeat the Toreros for the second time in two weeks.

Along with her individual crowns, Mann also contributed to a pair of winning relay teams, completing the butterfly segment of SDSU’s first-place 200 medley relay before leading off the Aztecs’ triumphant 200 freestyle relay.

In addition, SDSU received winning efforts from Melanie Quinto, Elisa Branca, Kaydence Bispo and Ginger Kiefer to help secure their 87th consecutive dual-meet victory dating back to January 2018.

The Aztecs set the tone for the day in the 200 medley relay, where the quartet of Liv Peebles, Branca, Mann and Bispo joined forces on the Scarlet and Black’s triumphant ‘A’ team, which completed the race with a clocking of 1:44.73, while the ‘B’ team comprised of Quinto, Ava Haese, Camille Seiley and Sierra Tallman took second at 1:47.23.

In a meet featuring extended distances, SDSU showcased its tremendous depth with four of the top five times in the 150 freestyle, where Mann logged her first victory after touching the wall at 1:21.20, while Bispo was second at 1:22.98, followed by Hannah Campbell (1:27.42) and Julia Reed (1:28.33), who were slotted fourth and fifth, respectively, with the latter result scored as an exhibition.

Shortly thereafter, Mann locked up her second title in the 150 butterfly, where she turned a first-place time of 1:28.75, edging Kiefer (1:29.62) for the top spot, while Tallman (1:30.99) finished fourth.

As the meet progressed, the Aztecs boasted the top-five swimmers in the 150 back, where Quinto bested the field with a 1:31.30 clocking, followed in succession by Kiefer (1:32.63), Peebles (1:33.46), Abby Slater (1:35.60) and Alex Murphy (1:36.48), with the latter two swims deemed exhibitions.

Branca took over the spotlight in the 150 breaststroke, where she completed the race at 1:43.69, while Haese was SDSU’s only other competitor in the event, posting a third-place time of 1:47.52.

The Scarlet and Black claimed three of the top-five swims in the 400 freestyle, highlighted by Bispo’s 4:01.00 clocking, which was scored as an exhibition with the Aztecs comfortably ahead on the team scoreboard. In addition, Tallman logged the third-fastest time in the event at 4:06.64, while Gracie Thornton was slotted fifth at 4:16.79.

SDSU’s deep talent was also on display in the 300 individual medley, where the Aztecs logged five of the top-six fastest times, with each result deemed an exhibition. Kiefer led the way with a victorious performance of 3:17.24, while Branca finished in third at 3:21.12, just 0.19 seconds behind USD’s second-place competitor.

In addition, Quinto (3:22.79) placed fourth in the same race, followed closely by Haese (3:22.81), who took fifth, while Peebles rounded out the Scarlet and Black contingent with a sixth-place showing (3:27.46).

The Aztecs put the finishing touches on another successful meet with the two fastest times in the 200 freestyle relay, as the combo of Mann, Bispo, Branca and Quinto completed the event with a winning effort of 1:37.09, nosing out the foursome of Murphy, Tallman, Peebles and Grace Mering (1:38.26), as both SDSU squads’ results were considered exhibitions.

San Diego State returns to action on Thursday, Oct. 15, when it travels up the coast for a sprint meet at Pepperdine, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The Aztecs will continue north to the Central Valley that weekend for the two-day Fresno State Invitational, Oct. 16-17, in Fresno, California