Cal Hits Another Relay ‘A’ Cut with 2:50.09 400FR, Beats USC 107-76

Cal vs USC (Saturday Men’s Dual)

• Saturday, January 30th, 2021
• Spieker Aquatics Complex, Berkely, CA
• SCY (Short Course Yards)
• Results

Team Scores

1. Cal – 107
2. USC – 76

Cal beat USC for the 2nd day in row, with a pool record falling in the process. Daniel Carr (21.70), Reece Whitley (24.25), Ryan Hoffer (20.03), and Bjorn Seeliger (18.64) teamed up to clock a 1:24.64 in the 200 medley relay, breaking the Spieker pool record of 1:24.83, which was held by Cal from 2019. The swim fell just short of the NCAA ‘A’ standard of 1:24.30, but given Cal hit then ‘A’ cut in the 200 free relay yesterday, and they already have an individual ‘A’ cut, the Bears will be able to swim all relays they have at least a ‘B’ cut in at NCAAs.

Cal did close out the meet with another ‘A’ cut relay, taking the 400 free relay in 2:50.09. Ryan Hoffer led the squad off in 42.12, and was followed by Daniel Carr (43.19), Destin Lasco (42.76), and Bjorn Seeliger (42.02). The swim marked a massive pool record, coming in nearly 3 seconds under the previous record. It also puts Cal 3rd in the NCAA this year, behind only Georgia and UVA.

Of those relay members, Seeliger, Whitley, and Carr also won individually. Seeliger clocked a 19.42 to win the 50 free, marking his 3rd-fastest performance of the season.

Whitley posted a 1:53.75 to win the 200 breast by 5 seconds. Hugo Gonzalez, in his 2nd meet of the season, clocked a 1:58.38 for 2nd. Daniel Carr posted a 1:43.23 to win the 200 back, establishing an early lead with a 51.02 on the first 100.

USC posted a big 1-2 finish in the 100 fly, with Nikola Miljenic taking the race decisively in 46.66. He used a speedy 21.50 on the first 50 to eastablish the early lead, propelling himself to the finish before teammate Jackson Odgers (48.39). Alexei Sancov also picked up a win for the Trojans, posting a 1:33.79 in the 200 free. Sancov chased down and ultimately edged out Cal’s Trenton Julian on the final 50. Julian finished 2nd in 1:33.91.

Harry Homans was another USC winner, taking the 400 IM with a 3:51.12. Homans turned for the freestyle leg nearly a second behind Cal’s Chris Jhong (3:53.37), but turned on the jets coming home, out-splitting Jhong by nearly 3 seconds on freestyle.

PRESS RELEASE – CAL:

BERKELEY – Cal opened and closed Saturday’s dual meet at Spieker Aquatics Center against USC in the same fashion – setting a pool record in a relay – as the Golden Bears went on to defeat the Trojans, 107-76.

In the first event of the day, the foursome of Daniel Carr, Reece Whitley, Ryan Hoffer and Bjorn Seeliger covered the 200-yard medley relay in 1:24.62, shaving 0.19 seconds off the old mark set in 2019. A little over an hour later, the quartet of Hoffer, Carr, Destin Lasco and Seeliger completed the 400 free relay in 2:50.09, a nearly three-second improvement over the previous record (2:52.87 from 2005).

In between, Cal captured four of the seven individual races, including 1-2-3 sweeps in the 500 free and 200 breast.

Zach Yeadon was the first to claim a first-place finish when he out-dueled teammate Sean Grieshop in the 500 free. Yeardon touched the wall in 4:22.21, with Grieshop right behind in 4:23.07. Then, Whitley cruised to an almost five-second win in the 200 breast, finishing in 1:53.75 to runner-up Hugo Gonzalez‘s 1:58.39.

Carr won the 200 back in 1:43.23, and Seeliger took the 50 free in 19.42 to round out the Bears’ list of victors on the day.

PRESS RELEASE – USC:

USC juniors Isabelle Odgers and Alexei Sancov each won an event to lead the USC Swim and Dive team against the Cal Bears on Sat. (Jan 30), at the Spieker Aquatics Center in Berkeley, Calif.

The Trojans, for the second day in a row, competed against Cal in a split session dual meet. Both the men’s and women’s squads fell to 0-1 on the season, after their respective losses to the Bears.  The women’s team lost 207-119, while the men’s team finished 31 points behind Cal.

Junior Isabelle Odgers secured her second NCAA B-cut of the season, winning the 400y IM in 4:11.16. Also in the 400y IM was sophomore Aela Janvier who finished third in 4:27.48.

Senior and team captain Jemma Schlicht was second in the 100y fly in 52.88, securing her first NCAA B-cut of the season. Makenna Turner was sixth in the event in 54.56.

In the 50y free, freshman Kaitlyn Dobler touched third in a season best 23.02, while senior Marta Ciesla was fourth in 23.34.

On the men’s side, Nikola Miljenic had a solid day of swims. The senior won the 100y fly in 46.66 and was second in the 50 free in 20.13. Junior Jackson Odgers was second in the 100y fly, posting a 48.39.

Junior Alexei Sancov won the 200y free in 1:33.79, out-touching Cal’s Trenton Julian (1:33.91) and securing an NCAA B-cut in the season.

In the 200y back, Harry Homans was second in 1:44.91 and Paul Retterer fourth in 1:47.15.

The Trojans will return home for the next two weeks before hosting Utah/UCLA February 12-13 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.