Day 1 Results (PDF)

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- The No. 18 ranked Cal State East Bay swim team is in first place after an impressive performance on the first day of the La Verne Collegiate Winter Invitational at East Los Angeles College.

The Pioneers racked up 353 points during the five women's events on Friday, nearly doubling the total of the second-place team, Azusa Pacific (178 points). They have a commanding lead over the rest of the eight-team field with two days of events remaining.

East Bay began the evening finals by earning a decisive victory in the 200 Free Relay. Madison Hauanio, Vivy Hua, Shelby Parker, and Morgan McClure combined to turn in a time of 1:35.57, which currently ranks No. 10 in the nation. CSUEB's "B" relay was impressive as well, finishing in fourth place to score 30 points. McKenna Stevulak, Yingfei Zheng, Cassidy Waters, and Noelle Farrar touched the wall in 1:38.53, which is also a top-30 time in Division II.

The second event of the day was the 500 Freestyle. Azusa Pacific had the top two finishers in this event, while the Pioneers didn't have anyone in the top three. However, this was a perfect example of how strong CSUEB's depth is in a team scoring environment. The Pioneers had seven of the top 16 swimmers and actually out-scored the Cougars in the event. Kayleigh Davidson led the way in fourth (5:09.24), followed by Mariam Lowe in fifth (5:13.28), Kali Kearns in sixth (5:18.95), Ryleigh Weight in seventh (5:21.11), Madison Chase in 11th (5:16.69), Madison Faulkner in 14th (5:23.44), and Abigail Mitchell in 15th (5:23.9).

East Bay didn't have the top finisher in the 200 IM either, but they were once again the highest-scoring team in the event. McClure was out-touched by Biola's Lisa Tixier, taking second place in 2:05.86. In the prelims, McClure swam 2:04.58, which is her lowest time of the season and qualifies as an NCAA "B" cut. Claire Beaty took third in the 200 IM (2:08.60), followed by Victoria Zukeran in fourth (2:09.09), Miranda McDonnell in 10th (2:13.64), and Laurel Carpenter in 14th (2:14.73).

The script was the same in the fourth women's event, the 50 Free. Despite not having a top-two finisher, East Bay scored more points than any other team in the race by posting four of the top seven swimmers. Hua completed the sprint in 24.08 to take third place overall, followed closely by Hauanio in third (24.13). Parker placed sixth in 24.53, with Stevulak in seventh (24.85), Waters in 12th (25.15), and Farrar in 14th (25.28).

The evening closed with the 400 Medley Relay, which was the most dominant event of the day for the Pioneers. Cal State East Bay tallied 96 points in the event, led by the first and second place relay teams. The foursome of McClure, Beaty, Hua, and Hauanio notched an NCAA "B" Cut with a winning time of 3:49.66, which is currently eighth-fastest in the entire nation. The "B" relay team of Lowe, Zheng, Zukeran, and Parker took second place in the event in 3:55.28. The "C" team of Stevulak, Rita Gomez, Faulkner, and Farrar posted eighth place points with a time of 4:07.13. 

The three-day meet continues on Saturday with prelims in the morning and event finals in the evening. The Pioneers will concede diving points, but several of their strongest swimming events are still to come. Click here to watch live video of all the action.