Antoniuk Swims 1500 at Trials

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk competed in the preliminaries of the 1500-meter freestyle this morning at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Antoniuk finished the longest event contested at the Trials in 16 minutes, 11.47 seconds.

The electrical engineering junior-to-be, who was competing for the Canyons Aquatics Club, finished  80th in a field of 90 of best distance freestylers in the nations.

The top qualifier in the prelims was Andrew Gemmel, 21, who finished in 14:57.29. The top eight finishers in prelims will swim the final of the 1500, also known as the mile, Monday night. The first and second place finishers will qualify for the Olympic Team.

Complete 1500 freestyle results. 

Cal Poly’s Antoniuk to Swim at Olympic Trials

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk will swim the 1500-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday.

Konrad Antoniuk, a member of the Cal Poly Swimming and Diving team, will swim in the preliminaries of the 1,500-meter freestyle on Sunday at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Neb.

Antoniuk, who hails from Valencia, Calif., is also representing the Canyons Aquatics Club, the swim club he grew up on.

The  electrical engineering junior-to-be  is seeded 71st in a field of 96 of the nation’s best distance freestylers. His entry time is 15 minutes, 18.17 seconds.

Antoniuk had the highest placing of any Cal Poly swimmers at the 2012 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. He finished 13th in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:36.01.

Click here for to view the live webcasts of the Trials. 

Click here for complete results from the Trials. 

Cal Poly Pac-12 Recap

The Cal Poly Mustangs and the rest of the Pac-12 Conference competed at East Los Angeles College Swim Center last Wednesday through Saturday in the 2012 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

For a recap of Cal Poly’s performance on Wednesday, the opening day of the meet, click here.

On Thursday, the Cal Poly squad of freshmen Mackey Hopen and Christian Renfro, sophomore Drew Casier, and junior Omar Dwidar placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. They posted a time of 1 minute, 23.78 seconds.

On Friday, sophomore distance swimmer Konrad Antoniuk placed 19th in the 400 individual medley with a time of 3:58.38. He was followed closely by teammate Carter Price. The freshman placed 24th with a 4:04.76.

Also placing in Friday night’s bonus finals was sophomore Joseph Wasko, who posted a time of 50.60 in the 100 butterfly to place 24th. Renfro also placed in the 200 freestyle by swimming it in 1:38.21. He earned 18th place.

There was a trio of Mustangs competing in the 100 breaststroke Friday night. Hopen swam in the consolation final and finished 16th with a time of 56.22. In the bonus final, freshman Jimmy Deiparine and Dwidar recorded times of 56.73 and 57.21, respectively.

The 400 medley relay closed out Friday’s finals session. The Mustangs placed eighth by swimming a 3:24.58. The relay was composed of Wasko, Deiparine, freshman Jesse McWhirk, and Renfro.

One of the strongest events of the meet for Cal Poly was the 1,650 freestyle, which took place on Saturday. Antoniuk finished 13th, the highest placing for a a Mustang for an individual event in the meet. His time was 15:35.01. Price placed 20th with a 15:55.20, and was followed closely by teammate Adrian Brynnel, a sophomore. Brynnel posted a 15:56.21. Freshman Cameron Johnson put up a 16:37.91 to finish in 22nd place.

Later Saturday night, Deiparine and freshman Tyler Pickett swam in the bonus heat of the 200 breaststroke. They placed 17th and 21st with times of 2:05.50 and 2:10.49, respectively.

The final event of the meet was the 400 freestyle relay. Dwidar, Hopen, Renfro, and Casier teamed to finish the race in 3:04.55, an eighth place finish.

In the team standings, the Mustangs finished in eighth place with 120 points.

Stanford University won its 31st straight Pac-12 title with 939.5 points. The runner-up was defending national champion UC Berkley, with 808 points. The final team standings are below.

1. Stanford University: 939.5

2. UC Berkeley: 808

3. University of Arizona: 543

4. University of Southern California: 517

5. University of Utah: 258.5

6. UC Santa Barbara: 251.5

7. Arizona State University: 221.5

8. Cal Poly: 120

For complete results for the men’s Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championship meet, click here.

The 2012 Men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships will take place at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Seattle, Wash., March 22-24.

Pac-12 Championships Day 1

The first day of the 2012 Pac-12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships took place today. Two events were swum: the 200-yard medley relay, and the 800-yard freestyle relay.

The Cal Poly team of sophomore Joseph Wasko and freshmen Jimmy Deiparine, Jesse WcWhirk, and Mackey Hopen posted a time of 1 minute, 32.20 seconds to place eighth in the 200 medley relay event.

In the 800 freestyle relay, freshman Christian Renfro, sophomores Konrad Antoniuk and Adrian Brynnel, and junior Eddie Huang teamed to swim a time of 6:41.33. They also placed eighth.

The meet will continue tomorrow and run through Saturday.

For live results, click here.

 

Cal Poly Defeats UC Santa Cruz

The Cal Poly Mustang swimming and diving team hosted UC Santa Cruz at the Anderson Aquatic Center yesterday for a dual meet. Both the men and the women came out with dominating victories.

The Mustang men won by a score of 214-70.

The score for the women was even more lopsided: 217-63.

The Mustangs swept the Division III Banana Slugs in every event in the dual meet on both the men’s and women’s sides.

For the men, freshman Jimmy Deiparine won both the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes. He took the 100 by posting a time of 59.60 seconds. In the 200 he swam a 2:14.05 and won by more than three seconds. He also swam the breaststroke leg on Cal Poly’s winning 200 medley relay.

Sophomore Adrian Brynnel won the 1000 freestyle by nearly 20 seconds, swimming the distance event in a time of 9:39.29. He went on to dominate the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:39.94, about 14 seconds faster than his closest competitor.

Sophomore Konrad Antoniuk was also a double event winner for the Mustangs. He claimed first in the 400 individual medley with a 4:06.82, and took the 200 butterfly by posting a 1:55.17.

For the women, sophomre Rachel Cleak won two of her three events. Cleak won the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly with times of 52.59 and 58.52, respectively. She was also the runner-up in the 50 freestyle.

Angela Haven also won two of her three swims. The junior claimed the 100 and 200 breaststrokes by posting times of 1:06.42 and 2:21.11, respectively. She got second in the 100 butterfly.

Senior distance swimmer Lacey Buck, swimming in her last meet at the Anderson Aquatic Center for Cal Poly, won both the 500 and 1000 freestyles.

The Mustangs will hit the water again at UC Santa Barbara for a rematch with the rival Gauchos on February 4.

Mustangs Travel to San Diego

The Cal Poly swimming and diving team traveled to San Diego this past weekend for dual meets against San Diego State and UC San Diego.

The women lost to the Aztecs 147-113, but beat the Tritons 185-113. The men faced only faced the Tritons, and came up short, 214-80.

The women’s duel with San Diego State was held in the long-course-meters format, while most college meets are held in a short-course-yards format.

In that meet, junior Angela Haven won both the 100 and 200-meter breaststrokes with times of 1 minute, 17.09 seconds and 2:41.64, respectively.

Senior Gloria Benefield, who was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s athlete of the week last week, won the 200 backstroke in 2:23.62.

Cal Poly also won the 200 freestyle relay. Sophomores Kelsey Engel, Jillian Jones, and Andrea Voigt team with senior Amy Morales to post a 1:52.11. The Mustangs also took second and third in the event.

The following day the Mustang women took on and defeated the Tritons of UC San Diego (this dual was also held in long-course-meters).

The Mustangs started the day off by claiming the first and second spots in the 1,500 freestyle, as senior Lacey Buck won with a 17:51.54. She was followed by junior Taylor Spivey.

Haven won both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes again, posting times of 1:16.54 and 2:42.04 respectively.

Cal Poly was dominant in the 100 freestyle, taking the top four spots. Sophomore Rachel Cleak led the charge with a 59.50. The Mustangs also went one-two-three in the 200 butterfly, with freshman Belen Enguidanos picking up the win.

Divers Sami McIntyre and Meaghan O’Meara also went one-two in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.

For the men, one of the top performer was sophomore Konrad Antoniuk. The distance swimmer took second in the 1500 freestyle with a 16:35.00, losing to Triton Matt Herman by just five seconds. In the 400 freestyle, Antoniuk was again barely best by Herman. The Mustang swam a 4:10.89 but Herman won with a 4:10.16. Antoniuk also won the 400 individual medley in 4:51.92.

For results from the Cal Poly vs. San Diego State duel meet, click here.

For results from the Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego duel meet, click here.

Winter Nationals Day 3

The the third and final day of the 2011 AT&T Winter Nationals Championship saw more swimmers from San Luis Obispo take to the water and compete against the best swimmers in the country.

Puma Aquatic swimmer Zachary Stevens swam the 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 23.61 seconds. San Luis Obispo Swim Club and former Cal Poly swimmer Zachary Cutts swam in the same event and posted a 2:25.32.

Also in the 200 breaststroke were Cal Poly swimmers Angels Haven and Kylie France. Haven, a junior, finished in a time of 2:39.35. She was followed by her senior teammate, who swam the event in 2:46.31.

Junior Katrina Anderson and senior Gloria Benefield swam the 200 backstroke in 2:20.06 and 2:20.07, respectively.

Belen Enguidanos, a freshman, competed in the 200 butterfly and posted a 2:18.01. She was followed by Benefield and France, who swam the event in 2:21.05 and 2:24.94, respectively.

Sophomore Rachel Cleak was the lone Mustang in the 100 freestyle, which she swam in 58.58.

The final Mustang to swim in Atlanta was distance swimmer Konrad Antoniuk. The sophomore swam the 1500 freestyle and hit a time of 16:15.60 to close out the weekend in Atlanta.

For complete results of the 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships, click here.

Local Swimmers Headed to Senior Nationals

Puma swimmer Zachary Stevens prepares for a race at the 2011 Junior Nationals, where he qualified for Olympic Trials. Stevens will be traveling to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the AT&T winter National Championships.

A number of swimmers from San Luis Obispo will travel to Atlanta, Ga., for the U.S. Senior Nationals swim meet, which is being held this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The AT&T Winter National Championships, which is usually competed in the short course yards format, is going to be competed in long course meters, due to the fact it is an Olympic year (the Olympic Trials and Olympics are held in long course meters).The venue for the meet is the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

Nine Cal Poly Mustangs will be competing in the meet.

Representing the Mustang men is distance swimmer Konrad Antoniuk. Antoniuk, an electrical engineering sophomore, will swim the 1500-meter freestyle and 400 freestyle.

The only other male Cal Poly swimmer is senior Aaron Mckinnon, who is swimming the 200 and 50 freestyles.

Seven Mustang women will also be making the trip. Junior Angela Haven is entered in the most events, with four: the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, 200 individual medley, and 100 butterfly.

Senior Kylie France is also swimming the 200 breaststroke, in addition to the 400 individual medley and 200 butterfly. Joining her in the 200 butterfly will be teammates Gloria Benefield (senior) and Belen Enguidanos (freshman).

Benefield is also slated to swim the 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Sophomore Rachel Cleak will join her in the 100 butterfly, while junior Katrina Anderson will swim the 200 backstroke.

Senior Amy Morales is entered in the 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle.

Cal Poly swimmer Konrad Antoniuk will swim the 1500 and 400 freestyles this week in Atlanta.

Two swimmers from the Puma Aquatic swim team will also take to the water in Atlanta. 16-year-old Zachary Stevens will swim the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, while teammate Amelia Schachter, 17, will compete in the 100 breaststroke.

San Luis Obispo Swim Club and former Cal Poly swimmer Zachary Cutts will also swim the 200 breaststroke.

These local talents will be sharing the pool with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Melissa (Missy) Franklin, Elizabeth Beisel, Dana Vollmer, and Kosuke Kitajima.

The Winter Championships is the last major national competition before the 2012 US Olympic team Trials, which will take place in Omaha, Neb., next June and July.

For complete psych sheets, click here.

Blue-Green Rivalry Renewed in the Pool

Story Highlights

• The Cal Poly women’s swimming and diving team beat the UCSB Gauchos 177.5-117.5
• It was only the second time the Mustang women have defeated UCSB in a dual meet
• The Cal Poly men fell 167-121

The start of the men's 100 backstroke during the dual meet between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.

The Cal Poly Mustangs swimming and diving team hosted the rival UC Santa Barbara Gauchos for a dual meet Saturday at the Anderson Aquatics Center.

The Gaucho men were victorious over Cal Poly, winning by a score of 167-121. But the Mustang women beat UCSB for only the second time in history, winning 177.5-117.5.

The Mustang women got out to an early lead by winning the first event, the 200-yard medley relay. They beat out UCSB by just over three tenths of a second, and were in control for the rest of the meet.

“I talked to them all week about the power of winning and winning early,” Cal Poly head coach Tom Milich said.

One of the members of that relay and one of Cal Poly’s top scorers was kinesiology junior Angela Haven. Haven won the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.73 seconds. She was also the runner-up in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, posting times of 1:06.33 and 2:17.76, respectively.

“I feel really good. I’m really happy with how this season is coming together,” Haven said. “I am swimming so much faster than I did in my freshman year.”

The Gaucho that was able to keep Haven from winning all three of her individual events was sophomore Sophia Yamauchi. Yamauchi touched out Haven to win the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, and also the 400 individual medley. However, her performance was not enough to beat the deep Mustangs.

“We really pulled together as a team and showed some heart,” Haven said. “We won some events, but we also created some depth.”

Seniors Lacey Buck and Gloria Benefield were both double event winners for Cal Poly. Buck won the 1000 and 500 freestyles, while Benefield took the 100 and 200 backstrokes. She was also a member of the winning 200 medley relay team.

But one of the keys to the Mustang victory was their dominance in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. Cal Poly went one-two-three in both events. Liberal studies sophomore Sami McIntyre was the victor in both events, while kinesiology sophomore Meaghan O”Meara was the runner-up.

“I felt really good about my performance at the meet. There were only a couple dives where I felt I could have done better on, but over all I was very pleased,” O’Meara said. “The competition was tough and I knew our swim team needed all the points we could get. When we swept both the diving events I was really proud of my team.”

Cal Poly's Andrew Casier swims through the 100 butterfly at Saturday's dual meet.

Although the Cal Poly men did not pull off a win, they still had some good performances. Leading the charge was electrical engineering sophomore Konrad Antoniuk. The distance-swimmer won the 1000 freestyle by almost four seconds. He also won the 500 freestyle by touching out his teammate, economics sophomore Adrian Brynnel.

One of the most exciting races of the day was the final 400 freestyle relay. Cal Poly trailed the Gauchos for much of the race, but on the final 50 freshman Christian Renfro surged and pulled slightly ahead of Gaucho freshman Steven Ewoldt. The two battled on the last lap, but Ewoldt barely touched out Renfro by one one hundredth of a second to clinch the Gaucho win.

The Mustangs and Gauchos will clash in the pool again on February 4, in Santa Barbara.

Cal Poly will next compete in the Mustang Invitational, which they will host at the Anderson Aquatics Center this coming Friday and Saturday.

For complete results from the UCSB dual meet, click here.