The University of Redlands men's and women's swimming & diving teams concluded the 2017 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships in fine fashion on Saturday, as each team finished third in the standings. The Bulldog women totaled 501 points to remain steady in their position, while the Redlands men elevated one spot to third with a final score of 558 points, which was 18 more than fourth-place Cal Lutheran University.
Highlighting the women's success of the day, senior Ellie Jaques (Covina, CA) fired off an NCAA "B" cut time of 2:21.48 to take home the silver in the 200 Breast. This also adds to her All-SCIAC honors of her illustrious career. Junior Claire Stuhr (Portland, OR) joined her among the point-scorers in this race by earning a time of 2:30.73 to finish fourth among the consolation finalists.
In addition, junior Emily Waddell (Bellevue, WA) recorded a sixth-place time of 53.05 in the 100 Free, while seniors Danielle Miller (Hood River, OR) and Leah Bolin (Oshkosh, WI) each touched the wall third in their respective consolation finals. Miller uncorked a time of 2:09.39 in the 200 Back, as Bolin impressed in the 200 Fly with her time of 2:16.93.
The 1650 Free saw freshman Courtney Gray (Yucaipa, CA) and senior Cassidy Cramton (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) complete the race in succession. Gray posted a 14th-place time of 18:34.09, while Cramton came in 15th with a mark of 18:42.07.
Finally, the women's 400 Free Relay capped off the exciting meet by registering a seventh-place time of 3:40.09. This quartet included freshman Taylor Cadile (San Jose, CA), freshman Claire Napier (Alamo, CA), Miller, and Cramton.
For the men, the Bulldogs gained another impressive outing from freshman Jacob Miner (Antioch, CA) with today's second-place score of 480.45 coming on the one-meter board. This garners him All-SCAIC honors as well as qualification to the NCAA Regional Meet later this month.
Junior Henry Stuckenschmidt (Fresno, CA) provided a fourth-place score of 371.95, while junior Payden Daly (Portland, OR) took eighth with an 11-dive total of 328.48.
Stuckenschmidt revealed his versatility by also recording a time of 17:00.07 in the 1650 Free for 13th, as sophomore Jack Ivey (Albuquerque, NM) followed in 17:16.82 for 17th.
Sophomore Joe Widuch (Naperville, IL) completed an impressive conference finale by uncorking an NCAA "B" cut tie of 1:50.40 in the 200 Back for All-SCIAC honors. Sophomore Benjamin Fortuin (Aurora, CO) earned important points for the Bulldogs with his third-place time of 1:56.53 in the consolation final.
Senior Eric Bugna (Vancouver, WA) fired off a sixth-place time of 1:52.89 among a very fast 200 Fly race that included six NCAA "B" cut swims. Junior Corey Winter (Ripon, CA) added a second-place performance in the event's consolation final with a time of 1:56.74.
Furthermore, junior Brian Wright (Kent, WA) swam a 2:09.95 for ninth place in the 200 Breast, while freshman Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL) recorded a mark of 2:09.29 to take second in the consolation final. Freshman Michael Talag (Lakewood, CA) scored important points in the 100 Free with his fourth-place time of 46.95 in the consolation final as well.
The men's meet was complete with the 400 Free Relay of sophomore Aaron Bauer (Garden Grove, CA), Wright, Talag, and Widuch tag-teaming for fourth place by touching the wall in 3:05.94.
Redlands swimming & diving looks forward to cheering on Miner at the upcoming NCAA Diving Regionals. In addition, the squads await the formal announcement for any qualifying swimmers to attend the NCAA Championships.
