ORANGE, Calif. – Kiana Tanizaki-Hudson and Low Tops' 200 free relay team achieved NCAA B cuts to highlight a successful weekend at the La Verne Invitational. Trent Calloway also brought home an event win for the Chapman University swim & dive team.
Overall, the Panthers swam nearly 40 personal-best times and had eight top-3 finishes.
Tanizaki-Hudson continued her tear in the butterfly events as she looks to earn her way back to the national championships as a senior. She placed second in the 100 fly with a 55.91 to finish with the best time in the SCIAC this season an earn another B cut. She swam the fastest time of the morning in the 200 fly with a 2:04.10 to put her on the brink of a return to nationals.
Her time in the 200 fly is about half of a second under last year's invited time to the Division III national championship meet. She is less than two-tenths of a second from last year's invited time in the 100 fly.
The Panthers' other B cut came for the Low Tops 200 free relay, which swam a 1:21.46. Simon Jacobs, Max Polovinkin, Calloway and Riley Coleman combined for a 1:21.46 – the second-fastest time in school history and the sixth-fastest time in the nation this year. The Panthers placed second in the event.
Calloway's win came in the 100 fly when he finished with a 49.21 to come out on top in a tight race that featured the top-4 finishers all within half a second. His time is the second-fastest in the SCIAC this year. As the lead leg of the 400 and 800 free relay, Calloway also logged two of the fastest freestyle times in the SCIAC this year. His 45.70 in the 100 free leads the conference and his 1:41.85 200 free time ranks second.
Jacobs and Polvinkin went on the finish third and fourth, respectively, in the 50 free final. Jacobs swam a 20.73 and Polovinkin swam a 20.84. Jacobs went on to place sixth in the free and swam a personal-best in the 100 fly to take 10th.
Cora Buelow had a solid swim for the High Tops as she was less than tenth of a second from a school record in the 100 back with a 58.36. She also placed 11th in the 200 back with the third fasts time in school history.
Alyssa Kooy shined in the sprint freestyle events, taking eighth in the 100 free and swimming a personal-best 52.98 in the prelims. Avery Hall swam the Panthers' fastest 100 free at 52.74.
The relays were also a bright spot of both the Low Tops and the High Tops. The Low Tops placed in the top-5 in all four relays, placing third in the 400 free and 400 medley relays. The High Tops turned in a time of 3:31.61 – the second-fastest in school history – to place fifth in the event. The 200 free relay took seventh while the 200 medley relay took seventh.
The Panthers are back to Allred Pool on Dec. 7 to take on San Diego in a morning dual meet.
