The Cal women will be adding some depth to their breaststroke crew next season, as Junior Nats finalist Ali Harrison has given her verbal commitment to join the Bears next fall.
Last season, Harrison was a finalist in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at Speedo Winter Juniors (West), where she clocked new best times of 1:01.45 and 2:14.42 on her way to a pair of 5th place finishes. At summer Junior Nationals, she made the championship final in the 100 breast, placing 7th overall. She also finished 3rd in the 100 breast at 2015 summer Juniors.
Harrison’s commitment could go a long way for the Bears, who have faced a shortage of breaststroke points over the last few seasons.
Harrison’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 100 breast | 1:01.45 |
| 200 breast | 2:14.42 |
| 100 free | 50.54 |
| 100 fly | 55.44 |
| 200 IM | 2:04.41 |
When she arrives at Cal, Harrison will have an immediate scoring impact for the Bears at the Pac-12 Championships. Her time in the 100 breast would’ve made the A-final at the conference meet last season, and her 200 breast time would’ve been good for the B-final. That’ll help the Bears make up for the graduation loss of Marina Garcia, who finished in the top 8 of both breaststrokes last season.
Harrison’s training group at Cal will include Pac-12 scorer Maija Roses, who has the exact same 100 breast time as Harrison. Roses is currently their fastest breaststroker behind Garcia, so we could see her and Harrison battling for medley relay spots next season.
