Toole wins again, women take fourth at SCIAC
LA MIRADA, CALIF. – School records fell, another title was claimed on the diving board and the Chapman University women's swimming & diving team had its highest finish ever in the 2016 SCIAC Swimming & Diving Championships. The women's team finished strong to take fourth in the team standings while the men finished ninth.
Freshmen diver Kellyn Toole completed a title sweep on the diving boards, coming from behind to win on the 3-meter board on Sunday. Four more school titles were broken, including a third on by freshman Kristina Fong.
Toole shattered the school record and became the first Chapman student-athlete to win multiple titles at the same championship meet. After winning the 1-meter diving on Friday, she won a back-and-forth battle on the 3-meter board to sweep the diving events. Her score of 480.65 also qualified her for regionals.
Fong broke her third individual school record of the meet in the 100 free with a prelims time of 52.84. She took seventh in finals but made finals in all three of her events over the weekend. With her record-breaking swim, she now holds three individual school records and is a part of three more relay records.
Freshman Katie Blasing dropped 10 seconds off her season-best to swim the second-fastest time of the morning in the 200 back with a 2:07.67. Her time bettered the school record by nearly three seconds. She took sixth in finals.
Sophomore Mary Welton swam a personal-best 18:04.04 to take eighth in the 1650 free. Freshman Connor Broughton finished sixth in the men's 1650 free and was just shy of a school record with a 16:20.85.
Sophomore AJ Silva knocked off his own school record on Sunday morning with a 1:56.57 in the 200 fly. His time placed him in the consolation final where he finished 14th.
One final school record fell in the last event of the meet. Occidental was closing in on the Panthers for fourth place but the 400 free relay team of Martina Exlerova, Lauren Alvarado, Rachel Isaacs, and Fong turned in a school record time of 3:36.64 to take sixth – just ahead of the Tigers. The men's relay team took eighth to end the meet.
The Panthers ended their season with nine new school records at the championship meet. Toole will compete at the NCAA Division III Region 2 Diving Championships in Grinnell, Iowa next weekend.
by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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