The University of Redlands swimming & diving teams headed to the University of La Verne on Saturday for the final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tri-meet prior to the championships. The Bulldog men topped the Leopards by a score of 191-38 but fell short against the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen in a tight battle, 118-119. The Maroon and Gray women had similar results, with a 155-77 victory over La Verne and a 117-123 loss to CLU.
Redlands corralled all of the men's diving points as the only competitors in the two events. Headlining the results, sophomore Jacob Miner (Antioch, CA) took first in the one-meter competition with a score of 226.75 while winning the three-meter event with a total of 265.70 points. First-year Max Spiegel (Englewood, CO) closely followed in second on both boards with scores of 218.45 (1M) and 220.60 (3M). Senior Henry Stuckenschmidt (Fresno, CA) completed the sweep on the one-meter board (162.80), as senior Payden Daly (Portland, OR) added a third-place tally of 135.80 on the three-meter for the Maroon and Gray.
The Bulldog men set the tone in the swim events by taking home the gold in the 400 Medley Relay. The quartet of first-year Eric Forbes (Ladera Ranch, CA), senior Brian Wright (Kent, WA), sophomore Matt Skinner (Lakewood, CA), and junior Aaron Bauer (Garden Grove, CA) out-touched the competition with a time of 3:33.87, which was 11 seconds faster than second place.
As the only other individual event-winner, Bauer came in first in the 50 Free with a time of 21.02.
Wright snagged the silver in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 1:56.69 before completing the 100 Breast in 58.80 also for second place. Skinner finished second in the 100 Fly by completing the race in 52.46, while Forbes also grabbed a second-place time in the 100 Back when he touched the wall with a time of 54.82.
The meet ended on a high note with the 400 Free Relay of sophomores Michael Talag (Lakewood, CA), Kyle Jackson (Naperville, IL), and Carson Brett (Exeter, CA), and Bauer teaming up for the winning time of 3:13.19.
For the women, sophomore Sami Scarano (Boulder, CO) nabbed critical points for the Maroon and Gray by winning both diving events as the only Bulldog competitor. She captured first place on the three-meter board with a score of 229.95 before earning a winning tally of 226.90 on the one-meter board.
Like the men, the 400 Medley Relay touched the wall first, as junior IvyLee Senn (Novato, CA), sophomore Julia Hagenbaumer (Naperville, IL), first-year August Key (Albuquerque, NM), and senior Emily Waddell (Bellevue, WA) joined forces for a speedy time of 4:11.34.
First-years Olivia Cano (Dublin, CA) and Karina Lanning (Cupertino, CA) fired off impressive marks in the 200 IM that landed them in first and third, respectively. Cano won the race with a time of 2:15.98, while Lanning produced a third-place effort of 2:23.05. In addition, Hagenbaumer unleashed a winning time of 1:10.15 in the 100 Breast, which was nearly three seconds ahead of the competition. Waddell also captured a second-place showing in the 200 Free by completing the race in 1:58.23, while senior Olivia Rock (Boulder, CO) uncorked a time of 25.87 to earn the silver in the 50 Free. Senn added another solid performance to the day by taking second in the 100 Free with a time of 57.06.
Cano and senior Alex Amaro (Sugar Land, TX) impressed in the 100 Back with their second- and third-place finishes. Cano clocked in at 1:05.01, as Amaro completed the race in 1:06.82.
The women's meet also finished on a positive note, with the 400 Free Relay of junior Wendy McAleer (Simi Valley, CA), Cano, Rock, and Waddell firing off a gold-medal time of 3:44.03, which was nearly four seconds faster than the next-best relay.
Redlands looks forward to the SCIAC Championships, which take place Wednesday, February 21, through Saturday, February 24, in Commerce.