Day 3 Results (PDF)


MONTEREY PARK, Calif., -- The No. 25 Cal State East Bay swim team displayed their true depth during Friday's session of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PCSC) Championships at East Los Angeles College.
 
The Pioneers have 930.5 total points through three days of the four-day event, putting them 14 behind first place Pepperdine. CSUEB's biggest perceived strength coming into the meet was its depth. And that was on display Friday as the Pioneers turned in a true team effort, despite not having a top finisher so far during the Championships.
 
"I think what has been most impressive is that we are 14 points out of first place and we have yet to win a race," explained head coach Shane Pelton. "Sure. We want to win. Trust me. But it has yet to happen. It's just a true testament of how deep this team is. We are 19 women strong and every single one of them is contributing to the success. Today, it was the unsung heroes, Lauren Ostrander, Paige Branson, Tori Padilla, Sofia Moufarrej, Landry Walker, Abigail Mitchell, Rebecca Bay and company that really stepped up and to keep this team in the battle."
 
It started right away with the 100 Butterfly, a race for which East Bay had six swimmers score points. They accounted for three of the eight spots in the "A" Final, and Allie Klinger led the way during the evening program with second place finish at a time of 55.71. Victoria Zukeran was right behind her in third, and Lauren Ostrander. Tori Padilla scored 16th-place points in the "B" Final. Sofia Moufarrej added 17th place and Alondra Ortiz collected 18th place in the "C" Final.
 
The next event was the 400 Individual Medley, and even though CSUEB didn't have anyone finish in the top-six individually, they still qualified for the "A" Final and "B" final as Landry Walker notched a seventh place finish and Abigail Mitchell scored 16th place points.
 
They continued to rack up points in the next race, as the Pioneers were the only team to qualify four athletes into the "A" Final of the 200 Freestyle. Isabel Rishwain led the way with an impressive second place finish in 1:52.30. She was followed closely by the trio of Morgan Frank in fourth at 1:52.93, Kelee Shimizu in fifth at 1:53.56 and Serene Augustain in sixth at 1:53.70. East Bay also boasted two swimmers in the "B" Final, as Maddie Wittkowske scored ninth place points and Paige Branson took 13th.
 
The breaststroke events are the only ones on the meet program in which the Pioneers only have two entries, but they were nonetheless well-represented in the scoring for the 100 Breast on Friday. Sophomore Rebecca Bay notched an outstanding performance to qualify for the "A" Final, placing sixth in the championship race with a time of 1:06.37. Freshman Tori Padilla finish 12th to qualify for a "B" Final in a time of 1:07.67.
 
That was followed by the 100 Backstroke, during which CSUEB's scoring depth was back on display. They had no one in the top-seven finishers, but once again tallied two "B" Final qualifiers. Ostrander garnered a tenth place in 59.19. Katrionna Furness scored 17th place points.
 
The final race of the night was the 400 Medley Relay, which saw a dramatic finish between FPU and CSUEB first. The Pioneers were out-touched by the Sunbirds to secure second place by 0.29 seconds, as the foursome of Ortiz, Bay, Zukeran, and Klinger finished with a time of 3:49.82.
 
"We talked about needing a spark today and needing a little momentum going into tomorrow and I think we did just that tonight," expressed Pelton. "These women raced with passion and intensity. In almost all races of the night, we moved up spots. That's what it is all about."
 
The Pioneers will head into the final session of the meet on Saturday looking to recapture the PCSC team championship. Seven events separate CSUEB from the title, as the program features the 1650 Freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, 100 Individual Medley, and 400 Freestyle Relay.