Stags out to big lead after first day of SCIAC Championships
COMMERCE, CA – On the first day of the SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce, CMS has the team lead in both the women's and men's team competition.
The Athenas have tallied 278 team points which is just ahead of Pomona-Pitzer (255.5). The University of Redlands sits in third place with 173 points while Occidental rounds out the top four teams with 138 points.
On the men's side, the Stags have built a big lead with 381 points. The University of Redlands is in second place (231.5) while Pomona-Pitzer garnered 172.5 points. La Verne's 167 points completes the top four in the team competition.
200 Freestyle Relay
Women's – Lauren Robeznieks, Ellie Jaques, Summer Harp and Chandra Lukes from the University of Redlands were the quickest by just 0.05 seconds with a time of 1:36.86. Pomona-Pitzer finished second in 1:36.91. Whittier took third place as they posted a time of 1:38.57.
Men's – The University of Redlands team of Brent Reed, Nikolai Paloni, Spencer Peugh, and Nelson Glendinning claimed the title by recording a time of 1:23.74 to outdistance themselves from Pomona-Pitzer (1:24.39). Cal Lutheran finished third by touching the wall in 1:25.38.
500 Freestyle
Women's – Kay Sterner from Pomona-Pitzer did just enough to distance herself from the second-place finisher by touching the wall in 5:01.69. CMS's Molly Loftus took second as she recorded a time of 5:02.16. Julie Case (Chapman) was just behind Loftus with a time of 5:03.81.
Men's – The CMS Stags took the top four spots in the race. Marc Blumberg's time of 4:33.19 was not only good enough to win the Championship, it was a "B" cut qualifying time. Alex Mendoza came in second as he touched the wall in 4:35.46. Rounding out the podium finishers was Cameron Whiting (4:35.55). Conrad Shabb's (4:36.86) fourth place finish gave CMS a total of 76 team points in the race.
200 IM
Women's – Michele Kee set the meet record with a time of 2:04.35 to win the championship. Maki Tohmon (Pomona-Pitzer) took second place as she touched the wall in 2:06.08. Both times were good enough for NCAA "A" cuts. Haley Thiltgen from the University of Redlands rounded out the podium finishers with a time of 2:08.42.
Men's – The University of Redlands tandem of Jeff Depew and David Ortyn finished first and second respectively. Depew out-touched his teammate 1:50.93 to 1:51.62 to earn to top honors. Both times earned an invitation the NCAA Championships last season. Steven Van Deventer from Occidental took third place (1:53.20).
50 Freestyle
Women's – In a meet record time of 23.56, Kelly Ngo from CMS claimed the title. Her time was good enough to earn an invitation to the national championships last season. Chandra Lukes from the University of Redlands was the closest competitor with a "B" cut time of 23.62. Helen Liu (CMS) tallied a third place finish by recording a time of 24.05.
Men's – Whittier's Fil Dajkovich won a thrilling race over Alex Poltash of CMS. Dajkovich nudged out the second place finisher 20.51 to 20.55. Matthew Williams from CMS took third place (20.85).
400 Medley Relay
Women's – Kelly Ngo, Kayla Flaten, Annika Jessen, and Michelle Kee from CMS brought home a championship by tallying a time of 3:49.75. La Verne was just over four seconds behind as they finished second in 3:53.89. Pomona-Pitzer scored a third place finish (3:55.17).
Men's – The CMS four-some of Matthew Williams, Zach Alleva, Patrick Schultz, and Joe Hinton swam a 3:18.30 to earn the title. Their time was also good enough to earn an invitation to the NCAA Championship in 2013. Occidental recorded a second place finish (3:24.52) while Pomona-Pitzer was just .31 seconds behind as they finished third.
Women's Team Scores
1. CMS – 278
2. Pomona-Pitzer – 255.5
3. University of Redlands – 173
4. Occidental – 138
5. Whittier – 130
6. La Verne – 119
7. Chapman – 93
8. Cal Lutheran – 75.5
9. Caltech – 56
Men's Team Scores
1. CMS – 381
2. University of Redlands – 231.5
3. Pomona-Pitzer – 172.5
4. La Verne – 167
5. Whittier – 148
6. Cal Lutheran – 143
7. Occidental – 102
8. Caltech – 84
9. Chapman - 80
Release courtesy of Caltech Sports Information, host of the 2014 SCIAC Championships.