Five University of Redlands swimmers competed at the Collegiate Winter Invitational over the weekend, uncorking phenomenal times that rank among the best in the NCAA Division III. While competing in the pool at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce, the location for the 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships, the Bulldogs excelled against some of the top competition from all of California.
Junior Jeff Depew (Naperville, IL) highlighted the Bulldogs' performances for the men with four first-place finishes. He registered an NCAA B-cut time in the 400 IM with his winning mark of 4:02.43, blowing the field away and touching the wall in first by almost eight seconds. With another winning time of 1:53.36 in the 200 IM, he also recorded an NCAA B-cut time. In the 200 Back, he outswam all other competitors and touched the wall in 1:54.34, while in the 200 Fly, he uncorked an NCAA B-Cut time of 1:50.38 for first place at the meet. In Depew's only non-first-place showing, he recorded a second-place mark in the 100 Back with a swift time of 52.31.
Senior David Ortyn (Bainbridge Island, WA) impressed as well, swimming a time trial in the 100 Fly and registering the fastest time at the meet of 50.96 seconds. He also notched a fourth-place mark in the 100 Free (47.01), while in the 200 Fly, he touched the wall in third place (1:54.17).
Freshman Trevor Togashi (Redlands, CA) put together some solid races over the course of the weekend for the U of R, taking 20th in the 200 Free with a solid mark of 1:51.58, while in the 50 Free, he notched a 24th-place finish (23.25). In the 100 Breast, he touched the wall in 1:07.15, while in the 100 Free he uncorked an impressive time of 50.05 for 18th overall.
On the women's side, sophomore Lauren Robeznieks (Tigard, OR) swam phenomenally all weekend long for the Maroon and Gray, cranking out numerous top-10 finishes and great early-season marks. Her best finish came in the 200 Free in which she touched the wall in second place with a time of 1:54.59. In the 50 Free, she also swam well and notched a fourth-place mark of 24.63 seconds, while in the 100 Free, she tallied another fourth-place showing (52.21). In her only other race of the weekend, Robeznieks finished in sixth place in the 100 Fly (58.76).
Freshman Cassidy Cramton (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) gained great experience while swimming against some of the top competitors in the SCIAC and in California. In the 200 Free, she recorded an 18th-place showing (2:01.59), while she bettered her race in the 100 Back by taking 17th overall (1:06.18). Elsewhere, in the 100 Free Cramton took 19th (56.18).
Redlands returns to action on Wednesday, January 8, when it hosts the University of Puget Sound at the Thompson Aquatic Center at 2 p.m.