The Seattle University women's swim team set another school record during the third day of the 2012 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Swimming and Diving Championships Friday at East Los Angeles College.
Bethany Gehrke (Lynnwood, Wash.) smashed the school record in the 400 individual medley by over five seconds in the evening finals, posting a time of 4:26.16 to win the bonus final and finish in 17th place overall. Karla Ruff (Seattle, Wash.) also qualified for the bonus final with a preliminary time of 4:39.03, posting a time of 4:40.47 in the nighttime session to finish 24th overall in the event.
Alexis Morehouse (Vancouver, Wash.) earned an NCAA B-cut qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke, following a preliminary time of 1:02.86 with a time of 1:02.93 in the championships finals, good enough for fourth place and 15 points for the Redhawks. Kevlyn Richards (Gig Harbor, Wash.) also picked up three points for Seattle U, finishing 14th overall with time of 1:04.26 in the preliminaries and 1:04.95 in the consolation final.
In the 100 butterfly, both Melissa Randolf (Everett, Wash.) and Megan Kelley (Las Vegas, Nev.) qualified for the bonus final and then proceeded to improve on their times in the evening session. Randolf finished 22nd overall with a time in the finals of 57.96, while Kelley posted a time of 58.41 seconds in the bonus final to finish in 24th place overall.
Rachel Leighter (Eugene, Ore.) and Hanna Basler (El Cajon, Calif.) reached the bonus final in the 100 backstroke, with Leighter finishing 20th overall with times of 58.91 seconds in the preliminaries and 59.21 seconds in the final, while Basler finished in 22nd place after posting times of 58.65 seconds in the morning session and 59.46 seconds in the evening session.
Capping off the evening, the quartet of Basler, Randolf, Tina Nguyen (Hillsboro, Ore.), and Nicole Doi (Pleasanton, Calif.) combined for the third-fastest time in school history in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing ninth in the event with a time of 1:37.56. As a team, Seattle University remained in 10th place with 103 points.
Seattle U will look to finish the championship meet on a strong note Saturday, Feb. 18, competing in the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, and 400 freestyle relay.