ST. GEORGE, Utah – At day one of the Trailblazer Invitational, the two UC San Diego swim and dive squads finished with the women's squad leading the pack of 11 teams with 256 points and a team record, and the men's squad finished with 276.5 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Beginning the finals with a team record, Miranda Renner, Tina Reuter, Jordan Phillips, and Mackenzie Lee swam a 1:30.00 time in the 200 yard freestyle relay to place first. Juli Arzave then took first in the 500 yard freestyle posting a time of 4:52.76, shaving off nearly five seconds from her prelim time earlier in the day. Katja Pavicevic and Reuter went two, three in the 200 yard IM finishing with 2:01.56 and 2:01.95 respectively.
 
In the 50 yard freestyle, Renner took second posting a 23.00 finish, only .03 behind first. Josette Odgers led the B-Final for the blue and gold with a time of 23.52. Booking end the first day with another first-place finish, the 400 yard medley relay team, made up of Alana Barthel, Pavicevic, Phillips, and Renner posted a time of 3:39.94.
 
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
In the 200 yard freestyle relay, the squad took second posting a time of 1:21.14 with Andrija Petkovic, Justin Morsch, Aidan Rikic, and Ivan Kurakin swimming the relay. Kurakin then took second with Luigi Franco finishing just behind him in the 500 yard freestyle, posting a 4:23.76 and 4:26.91 respectively. In another podium finish, Nathan Lee finished third with a 1:48.39 time.
 
Shane Burns and Colton Milne took fourth and fifth coming in milliseconds behind Lee. Rikic tied for fourth in the 50 yard freestyle with a 20.60 time and Morsch finished 0.14 behind him for fifth place. Finishing the day with a second-place finish in the 400 yard medley relay, Lee, Luke Pusateri, Chad Morrison, and Petkovic posted a time of 3:15.32 to end the day. In the same race, Burns, Milne, Rikic, and Morsch posted a 3:17.85 time to take fourth place to earn additional points for the Tritons.
 
CURRENT TEAM STANDINGS
Women
1. UC San Diego 256
2. UC Santa Barbara 225
3. UC Davis 125
4. Northern Colorado 122
5. Fresno State 119
6. Utah Tech Trailblazers 100
7. Nevada 87
8. Pepperdine University 28
9. Pacific 15
10. Cal Poly 4
10. Brigham Young University 4
 
Men
1. UC Santa Barbara 379.5
2. UC San Diego 276.5
3. Cal Poly 137
4. Pacific 123
5. Brigham Young University 39
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in St. George, Utah to finish the next two days of the Trailblazer Invitational. Each day begins with prelims at 9 am PST and finals beginning at 4 pm PST. A live stream is available here.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.