Day 1 Results

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay swim team is in fourth place out of seven squads after the first day of the A3 Performance Invitational at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.

The Pioneers, who entered their three-day midseason meet ranked No. 21 in Division II, scored 203 points and are ahead of conference rivals Azusa Pacific, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine. They trail Division I San Diego State as well as No. 4 ranked Fresno Pacific and No. 20 UC San Diego. 

"The team showed a lot of fight and energy tonight," said head coach Shane Pelton. "I thought we were a little sloppy in the morning prelim session and needed to shake off the rust, but we found ourselves and had a great evening session!"

East Bay started Thursday's evening program impressively, out-touching both the Tritons and Sunbirds to take second place behind SDSU in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:34.79. 2016-17 All-Americans Vivy Hua, Morgan McClure, and Shelby Parker swam the first three legs, with newcomer Allie Klinger, a transfer from SDSU, serving as the anchor.

Newcomers Serene Augustain and Peyton Wayment paced the Pioneers in the next event, the 500 Freestyle. Both women qualified for the "C" final during morning prelims, and then the pair finished three second apart in the final, taking 20th and 21st place overall.

McClure followed that with a runner-up finish in one of her best races, the 200 IM. She was three seconds behind the Aztec entrant, but bested every PCSC swimmer in the field, including FPU All-American Daria Belova, with a time of 2:03.75. Claire Beaty qualified for the "A" final as well -- by less than one-tenth of a second. She then turned in an outstanding effort in the evening, taking sixth place.

"Claire is swimming out of her mind," added Pelton. "I couldn't be more proud of her. She has done everything right. She had a great summer season and has continued to work on the little details in and out of the pool. She had a ridiculous 200 IM and a monster Breaststroke split in the medley relay. Her swimming is setting the tone for this team."

Following the 200 IM was the 50 Freestyle, which was dominated at the top by SDSU swimmers. Klinger had a strong morning swim to qualify for the "A" final anyway, then placed eighth in the evening session in 24.14. Hua qualified for the "C" final and won that race with a time of 24.52. 

The 400 Medley Relay closed out the first day of action with the Pioneers placing third. The quartet of McClure, Beaty, Klinger, and Hua fell to SDSU and Fresno Pacific, but beat UCSD by more than two seconds, clocking in at 3:48.92.

"Our relays are putting up some top times in country," Pelton praised. "Everyone stepped up today! Our team swims for one another, and it's fantastic to see members of a relay step up and race for their teammates."

The A3 Performance Invitational continues Friday with morning prelims at 9:00 a.m. and evening finals starting at 5:00 p.m. The teams will be contesting the 200 Medley Relay, 400 IM, 100 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, and 800 Freestyle Relay.