Day 3 Results

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. -- The No. 18 ranked Cal State East Bay swim team wrapped up a commanding victory at the University of La Vern's Collegiate Winter Invitational on Sunday, winning three of the seven races and to bring its overall total to 1,233 points over the three-day meet at East Los Angeles College.

The Pioneers dominated the eight-team field and more than doubled the total of the second place team, Azusa Pacific (601). Despite another impressive performance in the evening finals, the highlight of CSUEB's day actually came during the morning prelims, when the oldest record on the program's board was finally toppled after 29 years. 

Junior Morgan McClure, less than 24 hours after setting the school record in 400 IM, swam her first 100 IM of the season and took first place in the prelims. Her time of 58.28 is the third-fastest in the nation this season, and it was also two-tenths better than former Pioneer Julie Radecke, who had held the record since the 1987-88 season.

Sunday's finals started with the longest race of the meet, the 1650 Free. Kayleigh Davidson led the way for East Bay, taking third place in 17:57.97. Freshman Madison Chase took sixth in 18:26.35, continuing an impressive rookie campaign. (As head coach Shane Pelton put it, "She has gotten faster every single event, every time she gets in the water. It's unheard of.") Ryleigh Weight scored eighth place points for the Pioneers with a time of 18:35.66. 

McClure didn't compete in the 100 IM finals, which followed the 1650, focusing instead on the 200 Back, which was next on the program. The Pioneers still scored well in the event with four swimmers qualifying for the "A" final. Victoria Zukeran was out-touched to take second place in 1:00.98, followed by Yingfei Zheng in third in 1:01.32. Rita Gomez placed sixth for East Bay (1:03.02), with Laurel Carpenter right behind her in seventh (1:04.46).

McClure did indeed secure a victory in the 200 Back with a first-place time of 2:03.81. East Bay dominated that event, as Madison Hauanio finished runner-up (2:04.24), Mariam Lowe took third (2:04.95), McKenna Stevulak placed seventh (2:09.98), and Miranda McDonnell finished eighth (2:11.79).

Sophomore Vivy Hua continued a strong weekend by pacing the Pioneers in the 100 Free with a second-place time of 42.34. CSUEB showed off its depth in that event, with eight swimmers scoring points. Kali Kearns (53.91) took sixth in the "A" final, followed by Shelby Parker (54.43) in seventh and Abigail Mitchell (54.77) in eighth. Noelle Farrar (54.81), Stevulak (54.86), Annalena Assaiante (55.29), and Cassidy Waters (55.64) all scored points in the "B" final as well.

Claire Beaty swept the breaststroke events at the Winter Invite by notching a five-second victory over the rest of the field in the 200 Breast. Her time of 2:19.17 didn't quite beat her school record from last year, but it is an NCAA "B" cut and ranks her in the top 20 in the nation. Zheng finished fourth in 2:29.80, and Jensyn Breakfield placed seventh in 2:32.51. Carpenter (2:33.09) and Chase (2:33.40) also scored points for East Bay in the "B" final. 

Zukeran just missed yet another victory in the next race, finishing second in the 200 Fly by six-tenths with a time of 2:08.69. The Pioneers were once again well-represented, as Madison Faulkner finished fifth (2:10.28), McDonnell took eighth (2:14.84 in prelim), and Elizabeth Cocker placed 12th (2:16.15).

The final event of the weekend was the 400 Free Relay, which East Bay dominated as it had all weekend, securing a four-second victory and placing three of the top seven relay teams. Hauanio, Hua, Kearns, and McClure won the race in 3:29.41, an NCAA "B" Cut and a season-best time that ranks 13th in the country. The "B" team of the Parker, Stevulak, Farrar, and Mitchell placed third in 3:37.03, and the "C" team of Tiffany Wong, Assaiante, Waters, and Zukeran took seventh with a time of 3:41.01.

The Pioneers swam personal bests across the board this weekend, and overall, they broke three program records. It's hopefully a sign of good things to come, as the team will return to ELAC in February for the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference championships. 

But first, East Bay will head back south to wrap up the Fall slate in two weeks for a dual meet against conference rival UC San Diego in La Jolla on Friday, Dec. 16.