2020 PCSC Championships Day 4: Tovstogan Smashes 200 Breast Meet Record

PACIFIC COLLEGIATE SWIM CONFERENCE

The 2020 PCSC Championships concluded tonight with the 1650 free, 200 fly, 200 back, 200 breast, and 100 free. The 2019 champion Concordia men significantly closed the gap in the team scores, but Santa Cruz held on to take the win by 4.5 points. Notably, the Simpson men earned a 5th place finish, setting the bar in the program’s first season. East Bay has repeated as the women’s champions, outscoring Pepperdine on the final day to come from behind for the win.

Fresno Pacific’s Olga Tovstogan, who narrowly missed the Meet Record as she won the 100 breast, earned a breaststroke sweep. With her 3rd win of the meet, Tovstogan dropped nearly a second in the 200 breast, smashing the Meet Record in 2:12.55. Tovstogan was 4th in this event at last season’s NCAA D2 Championships, but her time tonight is fast enough to have earned a medal there. She’s now earned 3-straight titles in both breaststrokes. She also put up a lifetime best 51.46 to lead off the 400 free relay and was once again named the PCSC Swimmer of the Meet.

Teammate Arianne Kooijinga , who only swam this event in exhibition last season, completed the backstroke sweep, winning the 200 back in 2:00.40. That took 3 tenths off her former best from midseason and marked her 3rd win of the meet. Victoria Zukeran nabbed the 200 fly win for the Sunbirds, posting a lifetime best 2:04.14.

Fresno Pacific’s Iskender Baslakov was 3 tenths shy of the 20-year-old Meet Record in the 100 free as he defended his title, winning the race in 44.16 for a sprint sweep and his 3rd win of the meet. Baslakov’s lifetime best 43.68 is from last season’s NCAA Division 2 Championships, where he won the B final. He was named the 2020 PCSC Swimmer of the Meet.

The Sunbirds picked up another win in the men’s 200 breast, as freshman Denisz Der won the race in 2:02.65. Simpson’s Tom Higdon, who earned the program’s highest finish with a silver in the 100 breast, picked up another medal in 2:05.44 for bronze behind Fresno Pacific’s Dylan Sewell (2:03.89).

After taking a close 2nd in the 200 free and 500 free, Biola freshman Patrick Waggoner earned his first PCSC title in the 200 fly. Waggoner was over half a second ahead at the halfway point and never let up his lead. He won the race in 1:52.56, dropping a few tenths from his lifetime best set in prelims. Throughout the day, he dropped 2 seconds.

East Bay’s Allie Klinger took the women’s 100 free in 51.24. Her lifetime best still stands at a 50.77, which she swam in the B final of the 2019 NCAA Division 2 Championships. She’s now the back-to-back champion in the event.

Additional Event Winners

  • Klinger anchored the winning 400 free relay, racing to a 50.27. The East Bay women won it in 3:27.17.
  • Baslakov led off for the Fresno Pacific men’s 400 free relay in 44.99. They won in 3:02.76.
  • We saw a couple of big drops in the mile. Concordia’s Taylor Steffen made a huge drop in the men’s event, dropping 17 seconds to win it in 15:51.78. East Bay’s Peyton Wayment dropped nearly 6 seconds in the women’s race, winning in 17:04.65.
  • There was a tie for the title in the men’s 200 back. Concordia freshman Braeden Glor took it out with the lead, but Biola’s Clayton Owens closed on him as they hit the wall simultaneously in 1:53.94. That makes Owens a defending champion in the event.

FINAL TEAM SCORES – WOMEN

  1. California State University, East Bay 1354.5
  2. Pepperdine University 1311.5
  3. Biola University 1018
  4. Azusa Pacific University 1017
  5. Fresno Pacific University 717
  6. Concordia University 702
  7. Loyola Marymount University 634
  8. University of Alaska-Fairbanks 559
  9. University of California, Santa Cruz 524
  10. Westmont College 216
  11. Arizona Christian University 176
  12. Soka University 174
  13. The Masters University 118
  14. Simpson University 14

FINAL TEAM SCORES – MEN

  1. University of California, Santa Cruz 1413.5
  2. Concordia University 1409
  3. Biola University 1378
  4. Fresno Pacific University 882.5
  5. Simpson University 479
  6. Soka University 350
  7. The Masters University 247
  8. Arizona Christian University 39

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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