LA MIRADA, Calif. – The University of Redlands Swimming teams put up some strong finishes in Day 2 action at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships Thursday.
Four events took place, which included the 500 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, and the 200 Free Relay. The Bulldogs brought home one podium finish thanks to Lucas Walker (Mountain View, CA) who took 3rd in the 200 IM. They also received great finishes from Madison Petschauer (Cary, NC) in the 200 IM (4th) and Tom Jansen (Pleasant Hill, CA) in the 500 Free (7th).
The Maroon and Grey remain in their same positions from Day 1, but have picked up big points that have put them in a great spot for moving day.
The men sit in 5th with 152.5 points trailing Cal Lutheran (4th - 243 Points), and Caltech (3rd - 244 Points). They hold a good lead over Occidental (6th – 128 Points), Whittier (7th – 109 Points), Chapman (8th – 102.5 points), and La Verne (9th – 80 Points).
On the women's side, UR sits in 6th place with 182 points but trail Caltech (5th – 183 Points) by just a point and are in striking distance of Occidental (4th – 209.5 Points) and Chapman (3rd – 250.5 points).
Men
Jansen led off the top finishes for the Bulldogs in the evening finals posting a 4:33.54 that put him in a tie for 7th. This got the scoring started for Redlands as he picked up 13.50 points. Walker then came up huge in the 200 IM coming in just under two seconds quicker than his prelim time to post a 3rd place mark of a 1:50.45. This added another 18 points to the team total and he earned himself an NCAA B-Cut.
Thomas Long, despite not making it to the finals, did compete in the consolation group and he scored another three points coming in 16th with a 1:55.46. The final points on the evening came from the 200 Free Relay groups who combined for another 38 points. The 'A' group of Jack Forsythe (Ladera Ranch, CA), Memphis Gile (Redlands, CA), Dan Bajda (Lombard, Ill.) and Blake Eddow (Corona, CA) posted a 1:24.93, almost two seconds quicker than their seed time. With this mark they finished 5th overall bringing in 32 points. The 'B' team of T. Long, Zack Gissel (Beaumont, CA), Davis Wingard (Springfield, OR), and Andres Martinez (Beaumont, CA) brought in another six points after they came in 16th with a time of 1:28.27, also dropping almost two seconds off of their seed time.
Women
Gaby Hayon (Agoura Hills, CA), Andrea Brenstrom (Shrewsbury, MA), and Jacqueline Setlich (Laguna Niguel, CA), despite not making the top nine in the 500 Free did some damage in the consolation final taking 10th (5:14.36), 12th (5:15.99), and 15th (5:21.34), respectively. Brenstrom had the biggest jump improving almost two and a half seconds from her prelim time. These three marks brought in 21 points for the Bulldogs.
Petschauer was able to shave off a second from her prelim in the 200 IM as she took 4th overall with a 2:06.59. But she was edged by tenths of a second at the wall for a podium finish by May Ling Roberts (Pomona-Pitzer) who clocked in at a 2:06.51. This finished added another 17 points to the Redlands total.
Sydney Nakagawa (Vancouver, WA) was the lone Bulldog to compete in the 50 Free finals, taking part in the consolation group. After a 24.52 in the prelims, came out strong with a 24.37 to place 11th overall, bringing in eight points for the Maroon and Grey.
A pair of teams competed in the 200 Free Relay combining for 40 points. The 'A' team of Makenna Parenti (Rocklin, CA), Setlich, Madison Southmayd (Anthem, AZ), and Nakagawa posted a 1:30.08 that put them in 6th with 30 points. The 'B' team of Anna O'Meara (Clovis, CA), Courtney Prefontaine (San Clemente, CA), Emily Heaston (Corona, CA), and Hayon would also score adding another 10 points to the total as they would take 14th with a 1:43.07, dropping two seconds from their seed time.
Redlands returns to the pool Friday, February 18 for Day 3 action of the SCIAC Championships. Events will include the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, and the 400 Medley Relay.