July 11, 2015
Los Angeles, Calif.----- San Jose State University women's swimmer Riley Spitser qualified for the 2015 USA Phillips 66 National Championships and the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials with a winning mark in the 400-meter freestyle at the Los Angeles Invitational.
Spitser, a senior-to-be from San Diego, swam a winning time of 4:16.63 in the championship final at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the University of Southern California campus. The standard to qualify for the National Championships and the 2016 Olympic Trials is 4:17.99.
"I'm so happy to finally get this cut after years of working towards it with all my Spartan ladies by my side," Spitser said following her race. "I'm hopeful some of them will be able to join me. I couldn't be more excited to start my senior year and see what's to come!"
The Spartans recordholder in every freestyle event from 200 through 1,650 yards came into the 400-meter final as the #2-qualifier with a 4:21.21 time. Spitser outlasted University of Utah sophomore-to-be Maddie Meisel, the #1-qualifier in the preliminary round swim for the win. Meisel was clocked in 4:17.84, 1.24 seconds behind Spitser, in the evening's championship swim.
"Riley put a lot of work into achieving this and I am so happy for her. Winning an event at such a storied and prestigious meet, along with making her first trials cut is a tremendous accomplishment for her," said San Jose State women's swimming and diving head coach Sage Hopkins.
The 2015 USA Phillips 66 National Championships are August 4-8, in San Antonio, Texas.