Feb. 18, 2016
College Station, Texas --- Toppling another San Jose State record, senior distance swimmer Riley Spitser finishes third in the 500-yard freestyle as the Spartans' swimming and diving team moves to sixth places on day two of the Mountain West Championships.
"We had a very solid day with nearly 100% best times," said San Jose State Head Coach Sage Hopkins. "Riley Spitser's school record performance along with Cari Reiswig's gutsy performance led the way."
Already the schools record holder in the 500 freestyle, Spitser clocked a time of 4:44.72 in the preliminary round to break her own record of 4:46.10 set at the A3 Performance Invitational in November 2014. In the final round Spitser posted a time of 4:44.95 to finish third, giving the Spartans the best finish of day two of the conference finals.
"As I said yesterday, Riley has put in the work to have the meet of her life. We are seeing that unfold and it is great to watch," Hopkins said.
After a rough start in the final round of eight divers, Reiswig, a sophomore, found the groove to finish with a score of 317.20 for fifth place. Reiswig posted a season high score of 319.20 in the prelims.
"Cari had a rough start but battled back with an amazing fourth and fifth dive to move her from eighth place into the fifth spot," Hopkins said.
The Spartans relay team of junior Taylor Solorio, senior Brynne Beneke, Spitser and sophomore Brenna Bushey posted the third fast time in San Jose State history in the 200-yard freestyle relay to finish seventh. In the first leg of the relay, Solorio swam a personal best performance of 23.21 in the 50-yard freestyle to move into eight place in the Spartans' record books.
Seniors Alli Davis and Amanda Buxbaum swam season best times in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 19th and 25th. Davis' time of 2:04.70 moves her into the Spartans' all-time top-10 in the 200 individual medley in eighth.
Competing in the final race of the day, Solorio placed 19th in the 50 freestyle final with a touch of 23.44 while Beneke finished .05 second behind in 20th, clocking a time of 23.49.
On Friday, the third day of the conference finals, San Jose State will compete in 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and the 400-yard medley relay while looking to move up in the team scoring.
"Tomorrow is a very big day for us, and we need to keep performing as we have," Hopkins said.
Day 2 Results
Team Scores â€" 1, Nevada, 284. 2, Boise State, 254.5. 3, San Diego State, 213. 4, UNLV, 161. 5, Wyoming, 152. 6, San Jose State, 126. 7, New Mexico, 99.5. 8, Air Force, 95. 9, Colorado State, 92. 10, Fresno State, 70.
200 Freestyle Relay â€" 1, Boise State, 1:28.93. 2, San Diego State, 1:29.25. 3, Wyoming, 1:29.96. San Jose State Finish â€" 7, Taylor Solorio, Brynne Beneke, Riley Spitser, Brenna Bushey, 1:32.17.
3-Meter Springboard â€" 1, Sharae Zheng, Nevada, 396.35. 2, Krysta Palmer, Nevada, 396.20. 3, Ariana Milone, Colorado State, 344.10. San Jose State Finishers â€" 5, Cari Reiswig, 317.20. 25, Megan Au, 235.25. Exhibition â€" Eri Tamada, 225.35.
500 Freestyle â€" 1, Genevieve Miller, Air Force, 4:40.30. 2, Emma Chard, Boise State, 4:44.56. 3, Riley Spitser, San Jose State, 4:44.95. Other San Jose State Finishers â€" 24, Allyson Fellows, 5:01.94. 29, Taylor Lehr, 5:03.71. 36, Kendal Guy, 5:08.88.
200 Individual Medley â€" 1, Samantha Wicks, Boise State, 1:57.18. 2, Yawen Li, Nevada, 1:59.31. 3. Teresa Baerens, 1:59.40. San Jose State Finishers â€" 19, Alli Davis, 2:04.70. 24, Amanda Buxbaum, 2:07.25.
50 Freestyle â€" 1, Taylor Johnson, San Diego State, 22:16. 2, Emily Ridout, 22.42. 3, Katelyn Martin, Boise State, 22.46. San Jose State Finishers â€" 19, Taylor Solorio, 23.44. 20, Brynne Beneke, 23.49. 30, Brenna Bushey, 23.62. 31, Angel Van Hofwegen, 23.65. 31, Kimberlee Giggey, 23.65. 31, Marley Maluafiti, 23.65. 36, Brittany Heng, 23.72. 43, Lisa Ellis, 24.15. 48, Alyssa Cable, 24.42. 57, Natasha Moffit, 29.59. Time Trial â€" Taylor Lehr, 23.77.