Cougar swim team rewrites school record book at La Verne Winter Invitational.

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's swimming team broke six school records and laid down multiple times that could qualify the Cougars for February's national championships as part of a successful weekend at the La Verne Winter Invitational, which was held at East Los Angeles College.

How It Happened:  The records started falling with the first event of the meet, the 200 freestyle relay, where the quartet of Sydnee Wilson, Mikaela Maemura, Madeline Schulz, and Montana White touched the finish line in a time of 1:34.61, finishing second among the 35 entries competing at the event.  White followed by breaking her own record in the 500 freestyle at 4:50.77, reaching the "B" provisional standard for the NCAAs.  It was the first of 10 B standards the Cougars would achieve over the weekend, with White accounting for 4 of them.  The provisional standards may qualify the athlete for nationals, but it is dependent on how many spots are available in the event.

Wilson earned a B standard of her own in the 50 freestyle, putting up the fastest time in the preliminary round at 23.62, the first of two provisional marks she hit individually at the meet.  That was shortly followed by the third school record of the day, as Maemura, Courtney Seljeseth, White, and Schulz combined for a 1:44.04 in the 200 medley relay.  Aleena Herrera then took to the lanes for the 400 individual medley, and laid down a B standard of 4:28.72, good for third place in the final.

Seljeseth set both a school record and a B standard in the 100 breaststroke, reaching the line in a time of 1:03.19.  Maemura did the same in the 100 backstroke, finishing in a time of 55.10.  Angelica Benitez got in on the act with a B standard in the 200 breaststroke of 2:20.75.  And to cap off this amazingly productive weekend, Wilson, Maemura, Schulz, and White again joined forces to win the 400 freestyle relay with a school-record time of 3:24.80, meeting the "A" automatic standard and qualifying directly to the NCAA Championships.

In all, the Cougars racked up 1,293 points in the neet standings, finishing second among the 16 schools which competed, behind only Cal State East Bay and nearly 300 points ahead of third-place Concordia.

Up Next:  The Cougars have one more meet before the Christmas break, as they head to Santa Barbara for a dual meet against Westmont on Saturday, December 7.