ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - The College of Idaho opened competition at the GSAC Swimming Championship with a strong first day, finishing Friday in third place in both the men's, women's, and combined team standings at the Soka Aquatic Center. The Yotes tallied 147 points overall through Day 1, trailing second-place Arizona Christian University (206.5) and leaders The Master's University.
On the women's side, The Master's leads the standings with 197 points, followed by Arizona Christian with 106. The Yotes sit comfortably in third with 62 points, ahead of Soka University (47), Ottawa University of Arizona (32), and Simpson University (2).
The men's team mirrored the same position, closing the opening day in third place with 85 points. The Master's University leads with 177, followed by Arizona Christian at 100.5. Behind The College of Idaho sit Soka University (51), Ottawa (44.5), and Simpson (29).
The Yotes produced several standout swims throughout the day. The women's 200-yard freestyle relay team of
Lily Schroer,
Reese Kerr-Tayrien,
Sophie Mottishaw, and
Shae Arnold opened the meet with a strong runner-up finish, dropping 1.93 seconds from their season best. The men's 200 freestyle relay followed with a third-place showing behind the efforts of
Matti Eikenes,
Alec Rodriguez,
Sam Cortez, and
Karl Yount.
In individual events, Schroer (5:42.30) and Kerr-Tayrien (6:01.35) both posted season-best times in the women's 500-yard freestyle. On the men's side,
Jace Zemlicka claimed third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:53.30.
The Yotes added another third-place finish when
Cahill Robinson swam a 1:59.06 in the men's 200-yard individual medley. Moments later, Eikenes secured another podium appearance for the Yotes with a third-place finish in the men's 50-yard freestyle (21.71).
One of the top highlights of the evening came from the women's 400-yard medley relay team of Mottishaw, Arnold, Schroer, and Kerr-Tayrien, who stormed to a second-place finish in 4:42.47—an impressive 9.33 seconds faster than their previous best. The same quartet later added a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay (2:05.35).
The final race of the night brought the Yotes their first event victory of the championship as Robinson delivered a dominant performance in the men's 100-yard breaststroke, winning the event in a blazing 56.90.
With several podium finishes and multiple season-best times on Day 1, The College of Idaho is positioned well heading into the weekend. The GSAC Championships continue tomorrow as the Yotes look to climb the standings and build on a successful opening day.
