LOS ANGELES – The University of Redlands Men's Swimming & Diving team finished fifth at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championships held at the East Los Angeles College Swim Stadium and hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) as they scored 296 points.
The Bulldogs posted ten new Top-10 program record times,50 personal bests, 11 season bests and a new program record in the 1650 Free and a tie at the top in the 1000 Free.
Redlands was led by Tom Jansen (Pleasant Hill, CA) who set a new program record time of 15:43.17, good for an All-SCIAC finish as the runner-up in the 1650 Free. His time moved him into the 'B' Standard qualification which means he has the chance to be selected as an at-large athlete in the event at the NCAA Division III National Championships. The Bulldogs expect to know that decision by Wednesday.
Jansen also tied the program record time in the 1000 Free at 9:29.06.
In the relays, the Bulldogs just missed out on a podium finish as they took fourth in the 800 Free Relay with Jansen, Drew Heaston (Corona, CA), Lucas Walker (Mountain View, CA), and Blake Eddow (Corona, CA) helping the Bulldogs post the fifth fastest time in program history at 6:49.89.
In the 400 Medley Relay Walker, Thomas Long (Brea, CA), Heaston, and Eddow combined to swim a 3:27.14, the 10th fastest time in program history as they picked up 26 points for their sixth-place finish.
Memphis Gile (Highland, CA), Walker, Heaston, and T. Long helped the Bulldogs add another big 26 points with a sixth-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay.
Then in the 200 Free Relay the Bulldogs again took sixth and scored 26 points thanks to Jack Forsythe (Ladera Ranch, CA), Dan Bajda (Lombard, IL), T. Long, and Eddow.
Back on the individual side, joining Jansen in setting a Top-10 mark in the 1650 Free was Davis Wingard (Springfield, OR) who swam a 16:26.49, the ninth fastest in program history, good for seventh and 12 points. Wingard also swam a 9:55.09 in the 1000 Free, moving him into seventh place in program history.
T. Long finished 10th in the 200 IM, adding seven points to the Bulldogs total and tying him for the seventh-fastest time in program history at 1:53.37. Then in the 100 Breast he swam the fourth-fastest time in program history at 57.46 and collected five points for the team.
Adding to his performances for the relay teams, Walker also scored 15 points thanks to a fourth-place finish in the 200 IM, swimming a time of 1:51.07. He also earned four points in the 100 Breast and seven in the 200 Breast.
First-year Ethan Chir (Las Vegas, NV) swam the ninth-fastest 100 Breast in program history at 58.63. Joining Chir in the Top-10 in UR record books was Bajda who slots into 10th at 58.63.
The next event for Redlands Swim and Dive would be the aforementioned NCAA Division III Swim and Dive National Championships on March 15-18 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.