ST. GEORGE, Utah – After three days of competition, UC San Diego swim won the Trailblazer Invitational hosted by Utah Tech.
The Triton women defeated 10 teams to win their side outright with a score of 763.5 and the Triton men finished second with a score of 796. UC San Diego's combined score was enough to push the Tritons ahead of the field by two points with a total of 1,559.5.
ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE
Asia Koza,
Madison O'Connell, and
Chloe Braun all took home first place finishes for the blue and gold. Kozan tallied two first place finishes in the 200 IM and 400 IM with her 200 IM swim breaking the UC San Diego program record with a time of 1:59.37. O'Connell won the 100 fly and 200 back with a second-place finish in the 100 back.
In the prelims, Braun broke the program record in the 100 breast before going on to win the event in the finals.
Sophia Bell, Sydeny Niles,
Eva Boehlke, and
Hayley Gregory all made the podium in their respective events. Bell made the podium three times in the 200 free, 500 free, and 1650 free.
Braun, Gregory, and Kozan all earned NCAA-B cut times for their performances in the 100 breast and 200 IM respectively.
ON THE MEN'S SIDE
The men's side was led by
Luigi Franco who was the lone Triton to win an event. Franco won the 200 back with a time of 1:44.29 and finished second in the 500 free with a time of 4:26.76.
Nathan Lee added points in the 200 IM when he took third with a time of 1:48.41.
Robby Griswold added his support with a second-place finish in the 200 back with a time of 1:45.63.
The relay team of
Jacob Wang,
Logan Lakis,
Zach Elian, and
Hunter Cehelnik finished second in the 200 free relay with a tim of 1:20.16 to earn 34 points.
QUOTABLE
"Utah Tech always does a wonderful job hosting this midseason meet," commented head coach
Marko Djordjevic. "This was a great midseason opportunity for our program. We had some very good performances like school records and national rank times. Definitely a good checking point to recognize what is that we are doing good and what we can do better."
UP NEXT
The Tritons take a well-deserved break from competition and will be back in the pool on Saturday, Dec. 21 when they head to Bakersfield to take on Big West foe, Cal State Bakersfield. The meet is set for 11 a.m.
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.
