Senior Swimmers Conclude Career at Samuelson

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- For seniors Kyle Eckhart, David Sparks and Chase Miller, their last race at the Samuelson Aquatics Center was a memorable one as Cal Lutheran dominated the pool Saturday morning, winning 14 of the 16 races en route to defeating the Tigers 204-80. The win against Occidental also got Cal Lutheran back to .500 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play, improving to 3-3 in the league.

Cal Lutheran was especially dominant early, winning the first seven events. The quartet of Aaron Waters, Anthony Nguyen, Eckhart and Tyler Berg won the first of race of the day, taking the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:39. 07.

Cal Lutheran placed first and second in the next event, the 1,000 free when Conrad Sheffer won with a time of 10:39.44 and Zachary Kaija touched the finish line next in a time of 10:47.35.

Miller made his last 200 free race at home count, taking first place with a time 1:48.26 which was more than four seconds ahead of second place.

Waters would win his second race of the day in the 100 backstroke, winning the race in a time of 56.09.

The Kingsmen were well represented in the 100 breaststroke as Nguyen finished second, Kaija third, and Sparks came in fourth.

The 200 butterfly race saw Mason Hill take first with a time of 2:17.89 while fellow Kingsmen Jake Hutton came in second with a time of 2:18.67.

The Kingsmen again placed one-two in the 50 free with Berg touching the wall first in 21.75, narrowly edging Miller who was right behind with a time of 21.98.

Cal Lutheran’s best race of the day was the 100 free when the Kingsmen finished 1-4. Eckhart won the race in a time of 47.97 while Miller finished second, Berg came in third and Sparks round out CLU with a fourth place finish.

Sheffer won his second race of the day, taking first in the 200 backstroke in a time of 2:03.25 and later capped off his individual race day with a victory in the 100 butterfly.

Derrick Graham won his first race of the day during the 500 free in a time of 5:02.36 while teammate Mike Potter made up more than a body length in the final 50 yards to edge Occidental swimmer Alex Najarian for second place.

The Kingsmen capped their successful meet with a victory in the 200 free relay. Sheffer, Sparks, Miller, and Berg clocked a winning time of 1:27.73, more than eight seconds ahead of second place.

The Kingsmen will dive back into the pool next Saturday, Feb. 2 when they travel to Pasedena and compete against Caltech and Pomona-Pitzer. The race is set to start at 10:30 a.m.

Box Score: CLU 204 Occidental 80
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