Relays begin SCIAC Championships with record-breaking swims

COMMERCE, Calif. – Four relays. Four school records. The 2018 SCIAC Championships are underway and the Chapman University swimming & diving teams made history in every swimming event. The Panthers set four different relay records to propel the women to third place as a team and the men into fifth.

Freshman Simon Duyungan began the day with a fifth-place finish on the men's 3-meter diving board, scoring a 435.05.

The men's 200 medley relay was on the blocks first and sprinted to another fifth-place finish. Freshmen William Crewe, Will Mamer and Justin Lammert teamed up with junior Quinn Gates in the short relay, finishing in a time of 1:34.43. The relay team shattered the previous school record by nearly five seconds.

Crewe anchored another school record relay in the 800 free relay. He followed freshman Brian Kim, freshman Jacob Cardenas-Ramirez and sophomore Chase Mitchell for a record time of 7:10.82. The Panthers took seventh in the event to finish off the opening day. The men posted 92 points to start off the meet in fifth place – just two points behind Caltech for fourth.

The women's 800 free relay provided the highlight of the night with a third-place finish to end the day. Sophomore Molly Davis, sophomore Teresa Gerhold, freshman Carina Laukaitis and freshman Joanna Spryou took the final spot on the podium with a school record time of 7:49.86. The top-3 finish boosted the women's team into third place after the first two events, matching the men's score of 92 points.

Another school record went down as the women's 200 medley relay team of junior Kristina Fong, freshman Bailey Reeves, freshman Hanna Heiss and Davis finished in fifth place with a time of 1:49.41.

The Panthers are back in the pool tomorrow at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center as the championships continue with the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 200 free relay, women's 1-meter dive finals and the men's 1-meter dive prelims.