Results (PDF)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The No. 21 ranked Cal State East Bay swim team won the annual Bay Area Invitational on Saturday at Trefethen Aquatic Center, topping the six-team field to close out a satisfying weekend. 

The Pioneers scored 735 points collectively, nearly 200 more than conference rival Biola in second place. 

The team set the tone from the outset of the morning meet with a victory in the first event. The quartet of Alondra Ortiz, Ciera Nasso, Victoria Zukeran, and Allie Klinger beat Biola by more than two seconds in the 400 Medley Relay. Impressively, the "B" relay team of Paige Branson, Rebecca Bay, Miranda McDonnell, and Jande Monteon took third.

That was followed by the 1650, which Peyton Wayment -- school record holder in the event -- won by a wide margin. She was more than 17 seconds better than the second place finisher with a time of 18:19.39. Landry Walker added fourth place points for the Pioneers, and Madison Chase scored as well with a ninth place performance.

Biola picked up its first win in the next event as Nicole Chang out-touched a pair of Pioneers in the 100 Back, but East Bay still extended its point lead. Klinger was runner-up in 1:01.24 with Vivy Hua two-tenths of a second behind in third. Tatum Roepke added fifth place points.

The Pioneer rookies led the way in the next event, the 100 Breast, as Nasso placed third in 1:12.86 and Bay took fifth. Senior Laurel Carpenter finished strong to touch the wall in sixth.

Zukeran then earned the third event victory of the day for CSUEB with a dominant win in the 200 Fly in a time of 2:11.47 that was nearly five seconds ahead of the next closest swimmer. Once again, East Bay's depth was apparent as Sofia Moufarrej took third and Ortiz placed fifth.

The Pioneers had a solid lead in the team standings at this point in the meet, but they nonetheless hogged nearly all the points in the next race. Allie Klinger out-sprinted the field in the 50 Free with a time of 24.73. She was the first of four CSUEB athletes in the top five, as Zukeran took third, Isabel Rishwain finished fourth, and Lauren Ostrander touched the wall fifth.

The second relay of the day saw similar results to the first, as the foursome of Serene Augustain, Hua, Monteon, and Maddie Hulse won handily in the 800 Free Relay. And just like in the 400 Medley, CSUEB's "B" team placed third in this race as well. 

East Bay's three returning All-Americans led the way in the next event, with Hua winning the 100 Free in 54.64, Klinger in third place in 54.72, and Augustain scoring fifth place points in 55.59.

That was followed by an extremely tight finish between four swimmers in the 200 Back. The Pioneers didn't pull out the win, but continued their strong team performance with a third place finish by McDonnell and a fourth place effort by Ortiz. 

After excellent showings earlier in the 100 Breast, East Bay's two freshmen breaststrokers performed well in the 200 as well. Bay was outstanding with a second place finish in 2:33.57, while Nasso took fourth. The pair was sandwiched around Zukeran, who notched third place points. 

The 500 Free followed that, and the Pioneers were extremely impressive collectively. After Annie Bristow of Biola won the race, CSUEB had the next five finishers. Hulse led the way in second place with a time of 5:26.76, followed by Wayment, Moufarrej, Monteon, and Abigail Mitchell. 

The Pioneers were equally dominant in the next race, the 100 Fly. Although not all of them counted towards the team scord, East Bay boasted six of the top eight swimmers in that event. Notching points were Hua in second place (1:00.37), Klinger in third, and Roepke in fourth. 

The final individual event of the day unfolded similarly, with six of the top nine finishers in the 400 IM donning "EB" caps. Augustain won the race in 4:42.40, with Carpenter turning in an outstanding third place effort. Zukeran finished fifth, followed closely by Ryleigh Weight in sixth. 

The meet closed with a bit of drama, as the 200 Free Relay saw a great battle between the Pioneers and College of Idaho for the top spot. Ultimately, Hua, Klinger, Roepke, and Zukeran came out with the victory by a half-second with a time of 1:41.34. 

Next on the schedule, CSUEB's level of competition ratchets up, as the Pioneers travel to UC Davis next weekend for a dual meet against the Division I Aggies.