San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara Extend Leads at A3 Performance Invitational

Photo Credit: Stan Liu

MONTEREY PARK – The San Diego State women’s swimming and diving team posted numerous top-10 all-time marks, while the UC Santa Barbara men put up a number of impressive swims Friday night as both teams extended their lead in the team standings at the A3 Performance Invitational at East Los Angeles College.

San Diego State Women’s Press Release

San Diego State extended its lead at the A3 Performance Invitational on Friday as it sent at least one swimmer to the championship final of each of the day’s seven events. The meet, formerly the Arena Invitational, is being hosted by UC San Diego at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park. Calif.

The Aztecs ended Friday night with 803 points as it looks to defend the meet title it won last season. UCLA moved into second place with 655 points while UC Santa Barbara dropped from second to third with a score of 606 points. A total of 15 women’s teams are participating in this year’s Invitational.

San Diego State got Friday evening’s finals session off to a good start by capturing first in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Chelsea Bailey, Cecilia Zaccarelli, Summer Harrison and Anika Apostalon turned in a time of 1:40.26, a mark that enters the SDSU record book as the fifth-fastest time in school history.

In the 400 individual medley, Shannon Herman (4:24.90) and Caroline Mitchell (4:27.61) scored points by finishing fifth and sixth respectively in the championship final. In addition, freshman Cori Casper (4:29.77) placed second in the C final to add points to SDSU’s team score.

Three Aztecs competed in the A final of the 100 butterfly led by a third-place finish by Harrison (53.87). Her time was the second-fastest ever recorded by an SDSU swimmer. Loreen Whitfield finished fifth in the event (54.81) with Samantha Guttmacher taking eighth (55.71).

The 200 freestyle saw Natilee Ruiz and Savannah Miller take second and third respectively in the championship final with times of 1:47.58 and 1:48.35. Whitney Weisz also scored for the Aztecs with a second-place finish in the consolation final with a mark of 1:50.66.

Zaccarelli then captured fourth place in the A final of the 100 breaststroke. Her time of 1:03.55 in that race places fifth on the SDSU all-time list. Laura Day also took sixth in the consolation final with a mark of 1:04.88.

In San Diego State’s lone individual win of the day, Apostalon clocked a 52.10 to win the 100 backstroke. McKenna Garfein took eighth in that championship final as well with a time of 56.73 while Bailey won the consolation final in 55.45.

The final race of the night had the quartet of Ruiz, Weisz, Miller and Dana Michaels capture third in the 800 freestyle relay in 7:23.97. That mark ranks as the seventh-fastest in SDSU program history

Action continues at the A3 Performance Invitational on Saturday (Nov. 22) with prelims in the 200 backstroke, 1650 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly getting underway at 9:00 a.m. The finals session begins at 5:00 p.m. and will also include the 400 freestyle relay.

UC Santa Barbara Press Release

After Day 2 of the A3 Performance Invitational the Gaucho men are on a run and no one seems to be able to catch them. UCSB’s men’s swimming team scored second or first in every event of the second day of racing, giving them a 400 point lead over the rest of the field. The Gaucho women totaled 606 points at the end of the day, sitting them in third behind San Diego State and UCLA.

In the women’s 200 medley relay, Allie Stevens (25.88), Katie Records (28.43), Kimmie Kreuzberger (25.21), Lauren Vosseler (22.90) earned the Gauchos their first points of the second day, taking third in the event.

The men’s powerhouse medley relay consisting of Mickey Mowry (24.02), Andy Castilleja (25.37), Wade Allen (20.93), and Chase Lemley (20.16) finished second in the 200 medley relay, just a half second under UCSD’s “A” relay.

Heren Alanis took home the first Gaucho win of the day, swimming the 400 IM in a time of 4:15.46. This time is well under the Division I “B” time standard. Alyssa Shew (4:28.67) and Reid Whaley (4:29.48) took seventh and eighth in the event, respectively.

The championship finals heat for the men’s 400 IM featured three Gauchos. Dylan Kubick (3:54.05) took second, Gabe Bolender (3:56.75) took sixth, and Andy Lau (4:05.31) took eighth.

Even more impressive than the showing in the 400 IM heat is the number of Gaucho men that earned points in the 100 butterfly. The championship heat alone featured five Gauchos, with four more following in consolation heats. Wade Allen (47.06) took home the second Gaucho win of the day, followed by Yoessef Tibazi (47.90) in second, Chris Nolan (49.23) in fourth, Kevin Mendoza (49.33) in fifth, and Mickey Mowry (51.17) in eighth.

In the men’s 200 freestyle Clayton Young (1:39.57) took second, Matt Drum (1:41.18) took sixth, and Chase Lemley (1:41.83) took eighth.

Katie Records (1:02.69) and Jiana Vargem (1:03.56) both competed in the championship finals of the 100 breaststroke, finishing third and fifth, respectively.

In the men’s 100 breaststroke, Andy Castilleja (54.94) took third, followed by Putnam Browne Jr. (55.58) in fourth.

Freshman Billy Mullis (50.03) sealed the third Gaucho win of the day in the men’s 100 backstroke. Josh Smith (50.38) followed in third, Albert Miao (50.73) in fifth, and Mickey Mowry (52.07) in eighth.

To finish off the day, the women’s 800 freestyle relay took fifth and the men’s took second.

After totaling the first two days, the UCSB men are in the lead with 1236 points and the women trail in third with 606 points. Tomorrow’s events include the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, and 200 butterfly.

Results: A3 Performance Invitational, Day Two

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