Results: Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Cal State East Bay swim team had another outstanding day at NCAA Division II Swim Championships, scoring points in two event finals at the Crossplex Natatorium to put itself in 15th place in the team standings heading into the meet's final day.
In what has been a week of impressive moments for the Pioneers, perhaps the most unexpected came Friday morning during the final race of the prelim session. East Bay's 800 Free Relay team -- comprised of
Morgan McClure,
Madison Hauanio,
Vivy Hua, and
Shelby Parker -- shattered the school record by nearly five second. They were seeded outside the top-16, but swam 7:28.89 to place 13th in the nation and add eight points to the team total.
Although it didn't result in any points, another highlight of the day came during the 100 Breast prelims.
Claire Beaty broke her own school record in the event, touching the wall in 1:04.02 to place 28th overall. Beaty has owned both of CSUEB's breaststroke records since her freshman year, and her best event, the 200 Breast, comes tomorrow in the penultimate race of the national meet.
The Pioneers had two swimmers competing in the prelims of the 100 Back this morning. McClure posted her best time of the season to qualify 14th in 56.11 and make the consolation finals. She moved up two places to place fourth in the evening race and finish 12th in the nation overall.
Mariam Lowe missed the top 16 by less than a second, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 57.04.
McClure has now scored 27 points individually at the meet. The Pioneers added 13 to their total on Friday, giving them 69 points through three days. To this point, they have out-scored several excellent programs, including Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Champion UC San Diego. The Pioneers have also seen four school records fall in the last three days.
This is CSUEB's first trip to NCAA Championships since 2014, when the team finished in 15th place in the team standings. With three extremely successful days thus far, this year's group has a chance to match or even top that. Saturday's program includes the 1650 Free, 100 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, and 400 Free Relay. Prelims begin at 8:30 a.m. (PST), with event finals scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
