CLU Kingsmen Swimming and Diving News

CLU Comeback Comes up Short

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

WHITTIER, Calif. - For the second time this season the Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving team dropped a conference dual meet by a single digit margin. The Kingsmen came up shy falling to Whittier 122-118 on the road Saturday to close out the regular season.

Results: WC 122, CLU 118 - F

Whittier took a sizeable lead after reeling off four straight event wins. The Poets started the run with a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200-yard butterfly, followed by victories in the 100 free, 200 back, 500 free.

Cal Lutheran was in contention for a win courtesy of individual event wins from Scott Beatty, Jon Rye and Conrad Sheffer.

Beatty charged out front and held on for the wire-to-wire win in the 200 free (1:48.53). It was the first of back-to-back races in which CLU finished first and second. Teammate Grant East split the fastest final 50 yards by 1.50 seconds to secure a runner-up finish.

The Kingsmen followed that effort up with a 1-2 finish in the 50 free, led by Jon Rye (22.19). Teammate Chase Miller edged out a Whittier swimmer for second place in a time of 22.41.

Conrad Sheffer found himself in a duel with Whittier's Dane Kawamoto during the 200-yard individual medley. All four of their 50-yard splits were within six-tenths of a second, but Sheffer held on in the end (2:00.88) to outlast Kawamoto (2:01.12).

Despite trailing by 13 heading into the final event, Cal Lutheran could tie Whittier by finishing first and second in the 400 free relay. The Kingsmen quartet of Quinn Smith, Rye, Beatty, and East won handily in a time of 3:16.28, but the Poet "A" squad got up for second to secure the win.

Cal Lutheran (3-4) will compete in the SCIAC Diving Prelims from Feb. 12-13, and the SCIAC Championships from Feb. 19-21.

Cal Lutheran Honors Seniors in Final Home Meet of Season

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:00:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving team participated in its final home meet of the season on Saturday against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Kingsmen fell to the four-time defending conference champions 159-64.

Results: CMS 159, CLU 64 - F

Cal Lutheran honored its four active seniors in Grant East, Quinn Smith, Jon Rye and Scott Beatty. The team also recognized former teammate Chris Knorr who was forced to the sidelines during last season's schedule.

Kingsmen sophomore Conrad Sheffer provided the lone win of the day by taking the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 1:59.94. Sheffer defeated Vincent Pai who finished just ahead of him at last year's SCIAC Championship meet. Sheffer took sixth in the 200 IM and runner-up in the 400 IM at last year's meet.

The 1-meter diving competition was cancelled due to high winds.

Cal Lutheran (3-3 SCIAC) will head out to Whittier for its final regular season conference dual meet of the year on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Kingsmen Knocked Off by Bulldogs

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran suffered a 140-101 defeat to Redlands at the Samuelson Aquatics Center on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Ryan Brem won both diving competitions and a trio of Kingsmen who swept the boards.

Results: UR 140, CLU 101 - F

Redlands stormed out to a quick lead after taking four of the first five events to begin the meet. Sandwiched in the middle was CLU's East who overtook teammate Scott Beatty to win the 200 free (1:49.02). Both were the only two swimmers to complete the eight lengths in under two 1 minute, 50 seconds.

East later finished second in the 100 free to Redlands' Tyler Harp (47.15). The three-timer SCIAC Male Swimmer of the Year also won the 50 free (21.85) and anchored the winning 400 medley relay.

Brem, Drake Hunter, and Kevin Schultz completed a 1-2-3 sweep on both boards to score the maximum 16 points. Brem won the 3-meter (185.60) by nearly 20 points and edged Hunter in the 1-meter competition (175.90).

Conrad Sheffer went out strong and held off Redlands' Collin Gladys to win the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.36) for his fastest time in SCIAC competition this season.

The Depew brothers of Christopher and Jeff combined to win three individual events for the Bulldogs. They also teamed up to make up half of the winning 400-yard medley relay squad to open the meet.

Cal Lutheran (3-2 SCIAC) will host the four-time defending SCIAC Champions in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, Jan. 28. It will be the final home CLU home meet of the 2011-12 campaign.

Cal Lutheran Dominant in Win Over Caltech

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:00:00 PST

PASADENA, Calif. - Cal Lutheran won 9-of-11 swimming events en route to a 147-86 road win over Caltech on Saturday. Zachary Kaija won a pair of distance freestyle events in convincing fashion to lead the Kingsmen.

Results: CLU 147, CIT 86 - F

Zachary Kaija won the 1,000-yard free (11:10.17) by over 25 seconds and the 500 free (5:21.57) by nearly 30 seconds. Brother Jake Kaija was part of a pair or relay victories as the Kingsmen scored the maximum 15 points in the 200 medley and 800 free relays.

Conrad Sheffer won the 50 free (22.39), Jon Rye took the 100 fly (57.73), Grant East won the 100 free (50.27) and Aaron Waters earned a win in the 100 back (57.57). Scott Beatty pulled away during the backstroke leg of the 200 individual medley to lead a CLU sweep in a time of 2:09.24.

Caltech's day was highlighted by double-winner Justin Johnson who won both the 1-meter (235.75) and 3-meter (233.10) diving competitions. Peter Buhler provided the other Beavers victory taking the 200 free (1:54.63) while holding off CLU's Max Zappas (1:54.76).

Cal Lutheran (3-1 SCIAC) matched its best start in program history and will host Redlands on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 10:30 a.m.

Kingsmen Nearly Complete Comeback Attempt

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:00:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving used a strong finish to Saturday's home dual meet with Pomona-Pitzer to nearly complete its comeback effort. The Kingsmen fell just shy dropping a 117-110 decision to the Sagehens.

Results: PP 117, CLU 110 - F

The depth of the Kingsmen roster kept pace with the three-headed effort of Hugh Berryman, Max Scholten and J.P. Cumming. This Sagehen trio combined for six individual event wins and played a pivotal role in Saturday's results.

CLU individual event winners include Drake Hunter (3-meter diving), Quinn Smith (100-yard butterfly), Kevin Schultz (1-meter diving) and Conrad Sheffer (100-yard breaststroke).

Sheffer led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 breast (1:01.39) completed by teammates Zach Kaija and Anthony Nguyen. The Kingsmen 400-yard free relay team of Jon Rye, Sheffer, Chase Miller and Grant East won to close out Saturday's competition.

Despite the Kingsmen scoring the near maximum points over the final two events, the Sagehens had built an insurmountable lead barring disqualifications.

Cal Lutheran (2-1 SCIAC) suffered its first loss of the conference season. CLU will be on the road Saturday, Jan. 14, at Caltech.

Cal Lutheran Hosts Annual Winter Invite

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:30:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran hosted its first competition of the 2011-12 season on Friday. The Samuelson Aquatics Center played host to the CLU Winter Invitational featuring a four-team field which included UC Santa Cruz, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitworth.

Women's Results: 3rd (457.5)
Men's Results: 2nd (699.5)

After competing in 30 events Whitworth took top honors on the men's side with 951.5 points while UC Santa Cruz earned the top spot for the women with 873.

The Kingsmen finished second to the Pirates while the Regals were third behind UCSC and Whitworth. PLU rounded out the field on both sides.

Mimi Harbach was the victor in the 500-yard free with a time of 5:21.80 for the Regals.

For the men, Conrad Sheffer was second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.45. CLU then went 2-3-4 in the 25 free with Chase Miller hitting the wall in 10.23 just ahead of Sheffer and Scott Beatty who tied in 10.27.

The swimming and diving program was one of three Cal Lutheran programs to host an annual tournament or invitational on Friday. Both the men's and women's basketball programs hosted their respective events with each picking up a victory.

Cal Lutheran will be back in the pool and return to conference competition on Saturday, Jan. 7, when it hosts a SCIAC dual meet against Pomona-Pitzer.

CLU Takes Third at Finis Collegiate Invite

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:00:00 PST

SOUTH GATE, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving team placed third among the 10 team field at the three-day Finis Collegiate Invite this past weekend. The Kingsmen were the highest finishing SCIAC squad among four conference schools.

Results: Finis Collegiate Invite

Conrad Sheffer provided the team's top individual finishes taking fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.15) and sixth in the 200 breast (2:18.45).

He teamed up with Aaron Waters, Jon Rye and Jake Kaija to finish third in the 200 medley relay (1:41.99) on the final day of competition.

The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team arrived on Saturday and went on to win the meet on both the men's and women's sides. Cal Poly SLO won the men's side by 333.5 points over UC Santa Cruz. Cal Lutheran finished ahead of fellow SCIAC team Pomona-Pitzer, Redlands and La Verne.

Cal Lutheran will host its first competition of the season when the CLU Winter Invitational gets underway on Friday, Dec. 30.

Kingsmen Remain Perfect in SCIAC

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:00:00 PST

LA VERNE, Calif. - Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving cruised to a 148-85 road win over La Verne to finish off the opening weekend of conference competition. The win comes less than 24 hours following a victory over Occidental.

Results: CLU 148, ULV 85 - F

The Leopards took an early lead after winning the 200 medley relay to open Saturday's meet. Shane Hurter and Marc Okimura swam the backstroke and breaststroke legs to lead off the race and went on to provide all four of La Verne's individual events wins.

Cal Lutheran used its depth and numbers to overcome the early hole. Garrett Naumann was a double winner taking the 1,000 free (10:47.47) and 100 backstroke (58.38).

Conrad Sheffer (50 free), Ryan Brem (one-meter diving), Ricky Henger (100 fly), Grant East (100 free) and Drake Hunter (three-meter diving).

Cal Lutheran will compete at the three day Finis Collegiate Invite starting Friday, Dec. 9, at the South Game Swim Stadium in South Gate, Calif.

Kingsmen Sink Tigers in SCIAC Opener

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:00:00 PST

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Cal Lutheran won six of the final seven events to pull away while earning a 145-89 victory over Occidental in its SCIAC opener on Friday. Grant East and Garrett Naumann each won a pair of individual events to lead the way.

Results: CLU 145, OXY 89 - F

Naumann and East won back-to-back events twice against the Tigers. Naumann stretched his lead to over seven seconds midway through the 1,000-yard free (10:51.24) and cruised to victory by over 20 seconds. He would late double up by taking the 200 back (2:08.94).

East won the 200 free in dramatic fashion splitting the final 50 yards in 27.58. He trailed by nearly two seconds after 150 yards before out touching Occidental's Kevin Kuwata at the wall for victory (1:50.64). East was the only swimmer to finish the 100 free in under 50 seconds by winning in a time of 49.38.

Conrad Sheffer won the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.94) and Jake Kaija the 500-yard free (5:24.77) to round out the individual swim event wins.

The Cal Lutheran divers earned an uncontested 1-2-3 sweep on both the one-meter and three-meter diving boards to close out the meet. Ryan Brem won the one-meter with 203.15 points, and Drake Hunter was victorious on the three-meter scoring 157.65 points.

Cal Lutheran will be on the road Saturday, Dec. 3, to take on La Verne.

Machida and Brem Lead Cal Lutheran at Bulldog Diving Invite

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:00:00 PST

REDLANDS, Calif. - Four members of the Cal Lutheran diving team competed at the Bulldog Diving Invite on Saturday, Nov. 19. Regal Sheyenne Machida took runner-up and Kingsman Ryan Brem fifth place on the one-meter board to lead the team.

Results: Bulldog Invite (Women)
Results: Bulldog Invite (Men)

Machida led by nearly 11 points heading into the final round after scoring 30 or more points on each of her first five dives. She provided the highest scoring dive of the one-meter competition in the second round scoring 42.90 points.

Her closest competition came from Cal Baptist's Jamie Flynn. She scored nearly 41 points on her final dive to overtake Machida for the title.

Brem earned his top-five finish in the one-meter competition by the slimmest of margin outscoring James Stevick of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by .05 points. Consistency paid off for Brem, who scored 30 or more points on five of his six dives, while Stevick missed on his first and scored only 20 on his fifth round dive.

CMS' Stevick was the top Division III finisher in the three-meter board. Brem was on the short end of a close battle coming up .60 points shy of a fifth place finish. Teammate Drake Hunter had the highest scoring Cal Lutheran dive on the three-meter racking up 34.20 points on his third round attempt.

All members of the Cal Lutheran swimming and diving teams will return to action in the conference opener on Friday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m. at Occidental. It is the first of back-to-back SCIAC road meets as CLU will face La Verne on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 10:30 a.m.

Swimmers Start Season Off at Malibu Invite

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:00:00 PST

MALIBU, Calif. - The swimmers of the Cal Lutheran swimming and diving team took to the pool on day two of the Malibu Invitational hosted by Pepperdine University. The meet schedule featured 50, 100, and 200-yard distances of each stroke in a non-scoring format.

Results: Day Two (Women)
Results: Day Two (Men)

Saturday's field included competitors from the host Waves, CLU, Biola, Soka University, LMU and Azusa Pacific.

On the men's side it was a three-team meet between the Kingsmen, Biola and Soka. For the Kingsmen Garrett Naumann, Rafael Ingannamonte, Kyle Eckhart and Conrad Sheffer each won individual events on the day.

The Regals swam against LMU, APU, Biola and Pepperdine. Jenna Snyder finished ninth in the 50-yard fly (28.45) and Shelby Brooks eighth in the 50-yard back (30.04) to highlight CLU's individual performances.

The CLU divers return to action on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Bulldog Diving Invite hosted by Redlands. The entire Cal Lutheran squad resumes competition on Friday, Dec. 2, to face Occidental in the first of seven SCIAC dual meets.

CLU Dives into Winter Season Schedule

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:00:00 PST

MALIBU, Calif. - Five Cal Lutheran divers took to the boards on Friday afternoon during day one of the Malibu Invitational hosted by Pepperdine. Drake Hunter and Ryan Brem each won a competition and Sheyenne Machida took runner-up on the one-meter board for the Regals.

Results: Malibu Invite (Diving)

Hunter returned for Cal Lutheran with a strong performance on the three-meter board scoring 191.55 points for the victory. This season he is joined by two freshmen teammates in Ryan Brem and Kevin Schultz.

After finishing runner-up to Hunter on the higher board Brem was victorious on the one-meter board with a winning score of 211.55. Schultz finished second and Hunter third to complete the Kingsmen sweep.

Machida and teammate Juliet Campbell competed on the one-meter board finishing second and eighth, respectively. Machida scored 206.80 points and edged out Pepperdine's Kristin Scribner for second place by less than two points. Waves' Elle Wade won the competition with a score of 227.85.

The Cal Lutheran swimmers will see their first competitive action tomorrow on day two of the Malibu Invitational. The meet is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m.

Winter Sports Season Begins Friday

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:00:00 PST

MALIBU, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran swimming and diving teams will officially start the 2011-12 winter season when taking to the pool on Friday, Oct. 21, at the Malibu Invitational hosted by Pepperdine.

The two-day meet will start at Noon on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22. The CLU divers will compete at the Bulldog Diving Invite hosted by Redlands on Nov. 19, while the swimmers will not compete again until early December.

Schedule: Swimming and Diving

The Kingsmen and Regals swimming and diving teams are only two of the four winter season varsity programs sponsored at CLU. Both the Cal Lutheran men's and women's basketball teams will play their first respective contests on Sunday, Nov. 6.

Schedule: Men's Basketball

The Kingsmen will play two exhibition contests with the first at home against the Afghanistan National Team. After another exhibition game on the road against Division I UC Riverside on Friday, Nov. 11, CLU will officially begin its season at La Sierra on Nov. 19.

Schedule: Women's Basketball

The Regals will face Division I Loyola Marymount in a road exhibition game before officially getting their season underway. Cal Lutheran will host Hope International on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

CLU Hands Out End of Year Awards

Mon, 09 May 2011 18:00:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On Monday inside Gilbert Arena student-athletes representing each of Cal Lutheran's 19 programs were recognized for their achievements throughout the 2010-11 season at the annual end of the year gathering put together by members of both the CLU athletics department and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The Cal Lutheran Senior Athletes of the Year were officially announced during the event with Allison Kerr of volleyball earning the honor for the women. Eric Flores and Andrew Giuffrida will share the honor for the men.

Seventy-two Cal Lutheran student-athletes are scheduled to graduate this month including the CLU Scholar-Athletes of the Year in Bobby Sanders of women's water polo and Ray Ostrander of men's cross country and track and field.

All student-athletes from this past season received a token of appreciation for their respective contributions this year with first year CLU members getting a CLU athletics department shirt, second year a sweatshirt, third year a letterman and fourth year a plaque.

Cal Lutheran Athletes Making the Grade

Mon, 09 May 2011 15:45:00 PST

It started in a little room in the humanities building. It eventually moved to the Lundring Events Center, where everyone assumed it would remain for many years. But the numbers just kept increasing, so this year's Cal Lutheran Scholar-Athlete Society induction banquet had to be held in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.

A record-high 112 athletes were honored last Saturday for having a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4. The standard far exceeds the 2.0 needed to be eligible to compete in athletics.

"To me that is the whole Division III philosophy of being a student and a top athlete," CLU Athletic Director Dan Kuntz said. "Our mission is to help them do well in school and do well in their sport and give them an opportunity to carry those on to other things."

The Scholar-Athlete Society started in 2003 with only 36 athletes. Although the amount of teams at CLU has remained the same, the number of athletes honored has jumped exponentially.

This year's total represents nearly 30 percent of the athletes at CLU.

"They are competitive people, and if you let them know what the expectation is, they are going to go for it," Kuntz said. "Once it happens once and someone see it, they realize the opportunity is there for them and it becomes a road map for others to follow."

CLU distance runner Roy Ostrander and women's water polo player Bobby Sanders, who were recently named Cal Lutheran Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year, have been members of the society all four years at CLU.

In front of a large gathering of relatives, coaches and administrators, each of the 116 honorees received certificates and other small tokens of reward.

"If they have the passion and commitment to their sport, it is a large chunk of their time they have to dedicate to play," Kuntz said. "It's asking a lot because they are not getting scholarship money or a private tutor or special trainer or registration just for them. They are doing this on their own because they want to."

Kuntz believes the environment at CLU is conducive for athletes to balance sports and academics successfully.

"The students have people around them and resources available if they need support, and I think a person tends to thrive more if they feel like they can do more," Kuntz said. "I think those things have really evolved at CLU the last several years and there has been a lot of work to ensure the infrastructure is in place."

April 6 is National Student-Athlete Day

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:00:00 PST

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On Wednesday, Apr. 6 institutions of higher learning will celebrate student-athletes across the country as part of National Student-Athlete Day. The program of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), has been celebrated annually on this date since 1987.

Official Website: National Student-Athlete Day

"We are very proud to honor hundreds of student athletes competing at CLU in 19 Division III sports programs and soon to be 20 with the addition of women's golf in 2011," commented Cal Lutheran Athletics Director Dan Kuntz. "As Division III athletes our students embrace the philosophy that competing in sports is an educational experience where learning extends beyond the classroom."

Brett Halvaks, the current CLU SAAC President as well as the NCAA Division III SCIAC and Northwest Conference SAAC Representative is receiving and giving out recognition to fellow student-athletes.

"I believe this day provides a wonderful opportunity to recognize what CLU Student-Athletes have accomplished over this past year; both in their sport and in the classroom as well," said Cal Lutheran Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Brett Halvaks.

The special day honors individuals at both the high school and collegiate levels. There are over 425,000 NCAA student-athletes with Cal Lutheran representing some of the more than 168,000 from Division III.

"It is remarkable to think that CLU, not to mention all Division III student-athletes in general are competing at such a high level while being provided minimal athletic aid," stated Halvaks who is a member of both the Kingsmen cross country and track and field teams.

Appropriately two of Cal Lutheran's eight spring teams will hold true to the student-athlete moniker with women's water polo hosting Redlands at 5 p.m. and baseball heading out to Chapman on a day that recognizes the student-athlete.

Teams Hold Position Over Final Night

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:00:00 PST

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran swimming and diving teams conclude the 2011 SCIAC Championship meet on Tuesday evening with the Kingsmen finishing in fourth place and the Regals taking sixth. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won both the men's and women's team title for the meet and the overall conference championship.

Results: Women's (Day Three)
Results: Men's (Day Three)

Regals Recap
The women's team had three different freshmen reach championship finals in three straight races on the final day of competition, finishing in the top-eight overall during the preliminary morning heats.

The first was Shelby Brooks who continued her solid swims as she qualified in the 200-yard backstroke. She finished fifth in the night session and set a new school record with her time of 2:08.61. Brooks was the only swimmer to break school records over the past three days doing so in both backstroke distances.

Teammate Kelli Miller matched Brooks' effort on the ensuing event in the 200 breaststroke finishing in 2:28.94 and in fifth place. Completing the CLU trio is Laura Millet who finished eighth in the 200 butterfly (2:14.56).

Overall Cal Lutheran finished with 244 points, only 21.5 points behind fifth place Whittier. In the final SCIAC standings the two teams tied for fifth place. CMS was the runaway winner scoring 1,072.5 points and have now won nine straight conference titles. Redlands was the runner-up with 695 points.

CMS Freshman Michelle Kee was named SCIAC Female Swimmer of the Year.

Kingsmen Recap
To start the meet on the men's side junior Jake Kaija nearly earned a podium finish in the mile. During the race he broke his own school records with his split at the 1,000-yard mark (9:58.63) and his final time of 16:33.77, good enough for fourth place and less than two seconds away from third.

The 100 free featured four CLU swimmers making the final 16 with Grant East qualifying for the championship final. His prelims time of 47.05 would be his fastest of the night, a new school record and he held on to fifth in the finals. Teammate Jon Rye won the consolation final and teammates Kyle Eckhart and Will Kennedy finishing 12th and 13th, respectively.

Two more freshmen continued to score major points for the Kingsmen in Conrad Sheffer and Anthony Nguyen. After Nguyen broke Sheffer's record in the 100 distance the night prior, Sheffer took the 200 prelims out fast enough to break Nguyen's newly set record, and ended that race as the second seeded qualifier for the night session.

Sheffer held a steady race pace in the championship finals but ran out of water to catch up finishing in a time of 2:06.83 and in fourth place, just .42 seconds behind the runner-up. Nguyen went on to finish seventh overall.

Jordan Liebhardt was the lone senior on either side for Cal Lutheran and was recognized prior to the finals competition on Tuesday. He was the final CLU swimmer to be in the water for the meet anchoring the 400 free relay.

CLU finished in fourth overall scoring 401 points. CMS won the meet scoring 921 points and has won four straight conference titles. Redlands was the runner-up with 739 points, followed by Pomona-Pitzer scoring 479.

Tyler Harp, a junior from Redlands was named the SCIAC Male Swimmer of the Year. He has won the award the past three years.

SCIAC Championships Day Two Recap

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:00:00 PST

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Sheyenne Machida and Conrad Sheffer each earned runner-up finishes during the second day of the 2011 SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships on Monday. Each set new school records and in total between the Kingsmen and Regals they racked up six more on the night.

Results: Monday Finals (Women)
Results: Monday Finals (Men)

Machida, a freshman diver for the Regals finished with 376.60 points in the one-meter diving competition, within eight points of the champion. Carmen Lundell of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won with a score of 384.15.

Sheffer was the top qualifier following the preliminary heats of the 400-yard individual medley. He went stroke-for-stroke with the defending conference champion in the finals through the first 300 yards, but finished as the runner-up (4:06.39). Chris Depew of Redlands won the event pulling away over the final 100 yards and finished in a time of 4:02.54.

CLU school records on the men's side set Monday include the 200 free by Grant East (1:43.46), Anthony Nguyen in the 100 breast (59.76) who became the first swimmer in program history to break a minute in that event, along with the 800 free relay team of East, Jordan Liebhardt, Jake Kaija and Sheffer.

The Kingsmen currently stand in fourth place through two days of competition with 288 points. CMS currently leads with 612 points, followed by Redlands with 516.

Shelby Brooks on the women's side became the first woman to finish four lengths of backstroke in under a minute, finishing the 100 back in 59.86 and seventh in the finals.

The Regals are in sixth place through the first two days with 162 points. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps leads with 766.5 points, followed by Redlands with 438 points.

The SCIAC Championship meet will conclude on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

SCIAC Championships Day One Recap

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 22:30:00 PST

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Day one of the 2011 SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships is in the books, with Cal Lutheran breaking four schools records in the process. The Kingsmen stand fourth and the Regals eighth at Sunday's end.

Despite ending the opening day in fourth, the men's team was in third throughout a majority of the day. Conrad Sheffer was part of two school records including one to open the meet.

The relay team of Grant East, Sheffer, Jon Rye and Will Kennedy beat the old 200-yard free relay mark by nearly one full second and finished third in the race.

Sheffer would break the school record in the 200-yard individual medley twice, once in the preliminary heats and again in the finals. His time of 1:54.31 was good enough for sixth place overall. He teamed up with Tyler Fuller, Kyle Echkart and Grant East in the evening's final event to break the 400-yard medley relay (3:34.29) with the Kingsmen relay finishing fourth.

Jake Kaija and Rye both recorded the top individual Kingsmen finish of the day taking fifth in the 500 free (4:45.81) and 50 free (21.40), respectively.

Shelby Brooks highlighted the women's side with the top individual finish on day one taking 10th in 200-yard individual medley.

Her leadoff leg of the 400-yard medley relay was the fastest 100 backstroke in program history, narrowly missing the sub-minute barrier finishing four lengths in 1:00.01. That final relay was disqualified for an early start which put the Regals in last place through the first day of competition.

Day two of the championships will begin with prelims starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 21.

CLU Begins Three-Day SCIAC Championships

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:00:00 PST

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran swimming and diving teams will begin the three-day SCIAC Championship meet on Sunday, Feb. 20 at the Belmont Olympic Plaza hosted by Occidental. Watch the entire competition live on the web and get complete meet information by visiting the official meet website.

Official Website: 2011 SCIAC Championships

Each day will feature a morning preliminary session and an evening finals session returning the top qualifiers from earlier in the day.

The team declared conference champion will be declared on a two-part point system. One point is awarded per dual meet win during the regular season followed by a predetermined point system giving points based on the team finish at the SCIAC Championship meet.

The Kingsmen went 4-3 during the regular season and currently stand in fourth place heading into Sunday. They equaled the most dual wins in program history this season. Redlands ran the table during the regular season, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished 6-1 and is in second place.

The Regals finished 3-4 in dual competition and placed fifth through the first round of competition. Three teams immediately in front of them finished 5-2 and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps stands alone at the top going 7-0 during the regular season.

CMS won both the men's and women's team titles last season and can repeat as champions with a win at meet's end on Tuesday night.