IRVINE, Calif. - The Concordia University Irvine swim and dive teams hosted the annual OC Invitational at the William Woollett Aquatic Center this past Saturday. In the unique format, a swimmer competes in three different distances in one stroke discipline. Both Concordia teams finished 2nd in the meet with solid times, impressive after the winter training session they just completed.
Freshman
Brinkley Hallgren led the way for the CUI women completing a two-meet undefeated streak. She won the 50, 100, 200 breaststrokes, coming from behind in the 200 to grab the top podium spot. She won three events last week at the Chris Knorr Invitational. Her roommate,
Julia Smirnoff had a breakthrough meet earning a bronze in the 200 before grabbing the 2nd spot in the 100 and 50 behind Brinkley.
Other standout swims earning top podium finishes included
Alice Stainer in the 200 and 500 freestyles and
Naomi Nakaya in the 50 and 100 butterfly.
Carissa Ward was runner up in the 100, 200, and 400IMs battling one of the nation's best swimmers in the NAIA division.
The men saw two sweeps from senior men.
Jayden Hernandez grabbed the 50, 100, 200 butterfly titles while
Lanis Webb destroyed the field in the backstroke triple.
Jack Harris won the 50 and 100 breaststrokes and the men's IM group of
Hunter May,
Trai Xiong,
Jackson Rosol,
Aidan Keane, and
Garrison Veron had a particularly strong day.
Before the meet, CUI took the time to honor our outgoing senior class. Captains
Jack Harris, Joseph Molettieri and Ellie Hardy along with
Alice Stainer,
Hunter May,
Jayden Hernandez,
Garrison Veron,
Lanis Webb and
Garrin Hatfield have given their all and represented CUI with distinction. We look forward to seeing what they and the team does at the PCSC Championships in a month. We're very proud of them and will miss their leadership and speed!
Up next for the Golden Eagles is the CUI Alumni Meet on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Woolett. This will lead into final preparations for the PCSC Conference Championships the week of Valentine's Day from Wednesday, Feb. 12 through Saturday, Feb 15.
Note: The swim competitions originally scheduled against Fresno Pacific and The Master's for Saturday, Jan. 18 have been canceled.
CLICK HERE for the CUI women's swim and dive schedule
CLICK HERE for the CUI men's swim and dive schedule
