INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks' women's swimming team defeated California (Pa.) 110-68 as they hosted the IUP Winter Invitational on Thursday at the Pidgeon Natatorium. The IUP men also competed, earning 13 qualifying times on the afternoon.
The IUP women won seven of the 10 events against the Vulcans, taking the top three spots in the 100 yard backstroke, 100 yard butterfly and 500 yard freestyle. The Crimson Hawks also had seven Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying times in the meet.
Sara Bertram (Alexandria, Va. /West Potomac) won a pair of events with qualifying times, finishing the 100 fly in 1:00.36 and the 200 free in 2:01.29. Also winning individual races were
Beatriz Gonzalez (Barcelona, Spain) in the 500 free (5:23.03),
Taylor Cisik (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown) in the 50 free (25.51),
Regan Chalk (Hanover, PA/New Oxford) in the 100 back (1:02.85) and
Paige Spradling (Lancaster, Pa. /Hempfield) in the 100 breast (1:10.01). All four times were PSAC qualifying times.
Cisik also had a qualifying time of 55.28 and finished second in the 100 free.
Also winning for the women was their 200 medley relay team of Chalk, Spradling, Bertram and Cisik, finishing with a time of 1:52.92.
On the men's side, nine swimmers combined for those 13 conference qualifying times.
Colter Long (Hollidaysburg, Pa. /Hollidaysburg Area) posted times of 22.15 in the 50 free and 54.45 in the 100 back, one of four swimmers to post a pair of qualifying marks. Joining him were
RJ Hammond (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) in the 50 free (22.80) and 200 free (1:48.29),
Yuri Fernandes (Brazil) in the 100 fly (52.09) and the 100 back (54.95), and
Noah Brockway (York, PA/Dallastown) in the 100 back (54.98) and 200 free (1:49.44).
Three swimmers had qualifying times in the 50 free, including
Andrew Richey (Warminster, Pa. /William Tennent) at 21.77,
Paul Singerman (Apollo, Pa. /Kiski) at 22.51, and
Sterling Tate (York, PA/Dallastown) with a 22.70. Also swimming times good enough to qualify for the PSAC championships were
Mace Long (Hollidaysburg, Pa. /Hollidaysburg Area) with a time of 52.90 in the 100 fly and
Shane Hallett (Boiling Springs, Pa. /Boiling Springs) with a time of 59.72 in the 100 breast.
This was the final action for the Crimson Hawks in 2015. They'll return to the pool with a dual meet against Clarion on Friday, Jan. 22.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP swimming on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPSwimming.
