The University of Redlands swimmers returned to action at the 2018 Winter Invite on Saturday at the Patricia G. Mitchell Swim Stadium in South Gate.
Among the highlights, the Bulldog men won four events, beginning with the 200 Medley Relay that included sophomore John Nelson (Parker, CO), sophomore Eric Forbes (Ladera Ranch, CA), senior Aaron Bauer (Garden Grove, CA), and first-year Samuel Ayers (Orinda, CA). The talented quartet swam a 1:36.81 for first place.
Sophomore Jordan Convery (Fairview, OR) kept things rolling for Redlands by touching the wall in 4:16.55 for a gold-medal finish in the 400 Individual Medley. He was more than two seconds ahead of second place and nearly eight seconds ahead of third. Convery also took third in the 500 Free with a time of 4:49.65.
In addition, Ayers uncorked the top time in the 200 Free by completing the race in 1:43.42 for a two-second margin over the runner-up. Bauer finished fourth with a time of 1:46.55.
The men capped off a solid day with a first-place performance in the 800 Free Relay as well. Ayers, Bauer, senior Jack Ivey (Albuquerque, NM), and first-year Derrick Garcia (Orinda, CA) combined forces for a winning time of 7:09.41, which was nearly eight seconds faster than the second-place foursome.
In addition, Garcia added a third-place time of 52.95 in the 100 Fly.
For the women, Redlands gained a second-place showing in the consolation final of the 400 IM from sophomore Olivia Cano (Dublin, CA), who fired off a time of 4:49.66. First-year Madison Southmayd (Anthem, AZ) completed the race in 4:54.61 for fifth among the group.
Junior Julia Hagenbaumer (Naperville, IL) made her way onto the podium of the 100 Breast by taking third with a time of 1:07.09. Furthermore, Cano registered a sixth-place time of 1:08.97 in that race.
The 2018 Winter Invite continues on Sunday, December 2, with 14 Bulldogs representing the University of Redlands at this high-caliber meet.