THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran Regals head to the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center in Commerce, California, Thursday afternoon, to kick off the 2019 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Swimming and Diving Championships.
In addition to determining individual conference event champions, the scores from the four-day event are combined with the results from the team's previous conference duals to determine the 2018-19 conference championship team of the year.
In the freestyle races, keep an eye out for senior Grace Sanchez, junior Emily Sharpe and sophomore McKenzie Kelly. Since returning in the spring, Sanchez has picked up a pair of first place finishes in the 50-free while finishing in the top five in every meet for the 100-free. Sharpe additionally took home the title in the 200-free at the Whittier/Redlands Tri-Meet, while Kelly locks down the 1650-free and aids the team in the 200-fly.
Racking up the points in the breaststroke races are junior Emily Glass and freshman Brieyana Walton. The two have combined for six podium finishes in the breaststroke, including a top finish in the 100-breaststroke by Walton in the conference opener against Chapman.
Senior Anna Lundsten and freshman Avery Conrad lead the Regals in the backstroke events with three first-places finishes and four podium finishes between them. Lundsten opened with first in the 200-back against Chapman, then Conrad followed suit with first in the 200-back against Pomona-Pitzer and in the 100-back against Occidental.
Rounding out the group, sophomore Abby Hiller serves as the team's primary diver. She has notched three first-place and three third-place finishes across the span of the season, including sweeping both the one-meter and three-meter diving events against Occidental. Hiller competes against the rest of the conference divers on February 16-17 at the Haldeman Pool in Claremont with her scores to be added to the team's overall results during the swimming championships.
Races begin on Thursday, February 21, opening with the 200-medley relay finals and extend to Sunday, February 24. For more information and the full schedule, head to TheSCIAC.org.
SCIAC Championships Info: 2019 SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
