OAKLAND, Calif. – Quin McLaughlin picked up a pair of individual wins, notching two of 13 NAIA qualifying marks on the day by the Lady Yotes, as the College of Idaho opened swim season with a double dual vs. Mills and Biola.
C of I dominated host Mills 171-31, while Biola used wins in the final two individual races to eke out a 106-98 decision over the Lady Yotes.
Seven different swimmers and two relay teams hit national cuts – including nine automatic marks.
The sophomore McLaughlin set the tone with victories in both the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.33) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:03.37) – hitting the NAIA "A" cut in with her win in the fly and the "B" cut in the backstroke. Freshman Aunika Torres also hit the "B" standard with her third-place finish in the fly (1:02.93).
Senior Kirby Roberts started her final season with a stellar performance, placing second in both the 100-yard freestyle (56.01) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.16) – clocking NAIA auto marks in both events. Freshman Abby Schwarte placed third in the 100-breast (1:11.94), hitting the NAIA "B" standard.
Freshman Kelly Burnham made a splash in her C of I debut, becoming just the second Lady Yote to crack the 2-minute barrier with her win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:59.38). She also recorded the third-fastest 500-yard freestyle time (5:26.79) in program history with a second-place finish, easily meeting the NAIA "A" standards in both events. Allie Godfrey also joined Burnham in the 200-free, hitting the "B" standard with a time of 2:05.42.
Junior Mckayla Stevens was dominant in her 200-yard IM victory (2:11.69), easily punching her ticket to Nationals, while freshman Maddy Kelly crushed the competition with a win in the 50-yard freestyle (24.36), the third-fastest time in school history, also hitting the "A" standard. Both Stevens and Kelly swam legs in the national qualifying 200-yard medley (1:52.98) and 400-yard freestyle (3:41.69) relays.
C of I closes out the weekend tomorrow with the Bay Area Invitational.
