Smithbaker Wins 50 Freestyle on Day One in Iowa
San Diego State's Meredith Smithbaker was victorious in the 50 freestyle on Thursday to help lead the Aztec swim and dive team during the first wave of action at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The San Diego State swim and dive program completed the first wave of competition in third place on Thursday at the Hawkeye Invitational inside the University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
The Aztecs racked up 314 team points, trailing front runners Nebraska (417 pts) and Arkansas (366.5 pts), while Illinois (284.5 pts) and the host Hawkeyes (274 pts) rounded out the top five of nine competing schools.
Among the highlights for the Scarlet and Black was Meredith Smithbaker’s victory in the “A” finals of the 50 freestyle, where she completed the race with an NCAA “B” cut time of 22.42, while teammate Alli Mann finished eighth after touching the wall at 22.93.
In addition, SDSU logged the two fastest times in the 400 medley relay, including the quartet of Abby Storm, Christiana Williams, Emily Tenczar and Kaydence Bispo, who combined for a winning effort of 3:36.20, which ranks ninth in program history.
Meanwhile, the Aztec combo of Liv Peebles, Moa Bergdahl, Mann and Smithbaker followed in succession at 3:37.26, although their result was counted as an exhibition on the team scoreboard.
Earlier, the SDSU foursome of Smithbaker, Mann, Bispo and Peebles recorded a second-place performance in the 200 freestyle relay with a clocking of 1:30.08, which ranks eighth on the school’s all-time charts.
The Aztecs advanced one diver to the “A” finals of the 1-meter springboard, where Valentina Lopez Arevalo took seventh with a score of 283.65 to surpass an NCAA zone qualifying standard.
Elsewhere, San Diego State grabbed the top three spots in the “B” finals of the 200 individual medley, including Mai McKenna, who completed a career-fast swim of 1:59.73, which ranks sixth in program history, while Grace Mering touched the wall at 2:01.38, followed by Bergdahl, who clocked in at 2:01.64. Additionally, Williams won the “C” finals of the same event with a time of 2:03.14.
The Hawkeye Invitational continues on Friday with preliminary races starting at 10 a.m. CT/8 a.m. PT, while finals are slated to begin at 5 p.m. PT/3 p.m. PT. Divers will also participate in 3-meter competition, which gets underway at 11:30 a.m. CT/9:30 a.m. PT.