Aztecs Capture Team Title at Fresno State Invitational
Bolstered by four event crowns on Saturday, the San Diego State swim and dive program captured the team title at the Fresno State Invitational among five participating schools at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
FRESNO, Calif. – Bolstered by four event crowns on Saturday, the San Diego State swim and dive program captured the team title at the Fresno State Invitational among five participating schools at Fresno State Aquatics Center.
The Aztecs maintained their perch atop the standings, finishing with a two-day total of 931.50 points to top the host Bulldogs (820.50 pts), while Washington State (802 pts) landed in the third position, followed by Air Force (776 pts) and San José State (475 pts).
With its tally, SDSU won the Fresno State Invitational for the first time in nine trips to the Central Valley after eight consecutive runner-up efforts dating back to 2016.
Since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign, the Aztecs have competed in 19 regular-season invitational meets and have finished outside of the top three just once during that span, logging six first-place performances, 10 second-place efforts and a pair of third-place results.
Abby Storm (200 back) and Reka Nyiradi (200 fly) claimed their second individual event titles of the weekend, while SDSU also emerged triumphant in the 400 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. In addition, the Scarlet and Black received a pair of second-place swims from Nyiradi (200 back) and Alyssa Schiller (100 free) to highlight yet another highly successful meet.
The Aztecs gave themselves all the momentum at the start of the day, as the 400 medley relay team of Storm, Moa Bergdahl, Alli Mann and Schiller combined for a winning time of 3:42.61, while SDSU’s second entry, comprised of Liv Peebles, Roni Black, Sierra Tallman and Kaydence Bispo, took fourth with a clocking of 3:50.83.
The ensuing event featured a pair of top 10 placements for the Scarlet and Black in the 100 individual medley, where Bergdahl touched the wall in sixth at 59.23, while Amber Janky was slotted 10th after completing the race in 1:00.25.
Storm took center stage moments later with a victorious swim of 1:59.79 in the 200 backstroke, edging Nyiradi (2:00.14) for the crown, while Melanie Quinto (2:04.97) finished in the seventh spot, followed by Peebles (2:05.47), who took 10th.
The 100 freestyle featured three Aztecs in succession, as Schiller (50.84) narrowly missed out on a title by 0.62 seconds after placing second behind WSU’s Darcy Revitt (50.22), while Mann (51.37) was slotted third, followed by Bispo in fourth (51.80).
SDSU logged a trio of top 10 finishes in the 200 breaststroke, including Black’s fourth-place effort of 2:17.00, while Bergdahl was slotted sixth at 2:19.50, followed closely by Elisa Branca’s seventh-place swim of 2:19.84.
Similarly, the Aztecs showcased their tremendous depth in the 200 butterfly, highlighted by Nyiradi’s triumphant performance of 2:00.75, while Tallman completed the race in 2:04.60 to finish fourth, followed by Janky, who placed ninth at 2:06.37.
SDSU also flashed its winning pedigree in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet, as the combo of Mann, Schiller, Bergdahl and Storm joined forces for a victorious time of 3:23.15, while the Aztec foursome of Tallman, Camille Seiley, Quinto and Nyiradi combined for a fourth-place finish at 3:28.75.
Earlier, SDSU had three competitors entered in the 1,650 freestyle who contributed to the Aztecs’ final point-total, including Grace Mering, who completed a 12th-place swim of 18.17.17, followed by Bispo (13th, 18:22.92) and Julia Reed (15th, 19:38.71).
San Diego State will have the next two weekends off from competition before returning to action for a quad meet at California Baptist, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, in Riverside, where the Aztecs will also battle Denver and UC Santa Barbara.