Senior Kevlyn Richards (Gig Harbor, Wash.) broke the Seattle University women's swimming record in the 100 breaststroke Friday night, finishing second in the event to highlight the third day of competition for the Redhawks at the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at The Aquatic Center at Palo Alto College.
In the morning preliminaries, Richards improved on her career best time by almost one full second, posting a time at 1:02.50. During the evening session, she swam even faster, posting a time of 1:01.95, 4/100ths of a second faster than the previous mark set by Alexis Morehouse at the 2011 conference championships. Richards, whose time was also an NCAA B-cut, picked up 17 points for the Redhawks thanks to the silver-medal performance.
"I am extremely impressed with Kevlyn's performance today," Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. "After swimming faster than she ever had in this event in the morning, for her to come back just a few hours later and break the school record, plus earn an NCAA cut time, shows how determined she is this week."
Also in the 100 breaststroke, Caroline Van Maren (Bellevue, Wash.) posted a lifetime-best time of 1:06.86 to finish in 21st place, while Dilynn D'Agostino (Gresham, Ore.) also swam her personal best with a mark of 1:07.05, finishing in 22nd place. Both swimmers earned swims during the evening session, where Van Maren posted a time of 1:07.49 and D'Agostino touched the wall with a new personal best mark of 1:06.88.
Bethany Gehrke (Lynnwood, Wash.) was able to advance to the "B" final of the 400 individual medley after posting a time of 4:28.14 in the morning session, 11th-best in the preliminaries. Several hours later, she finished fifth in the consolation final with a time of 4:28.28, placing 13th overall in the event.
Additionally in the 400 IM, Karla Ruff (Seattle, Wash.) finished in 22nd place with a time of 4:37.57, just ahead of Mackenzie Gant (Richland, Wash.) in 23rd place in 4:38.31, giving both swimmers a chance to compete in the evening. Ruff posted a personal-best time of 4:35.99, and Gant also earned a lifetime best with a mark of 4:36.24.
Capping off the evening in the 400 medley relay, the quartet of Rachel Leighter (Eugene, Ore.), Richards, Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.), and Nicole Doi (Pleasanton, Calif.) finished in seventh place in the event with a time of 3:52.94, the fourth-fastest time in program history.
Liggett earned a second swim in the 100 butterfly after posting a time of 58.08 seconds in the early session, good enough for 21st place. Liggett swam the evening race in 58.10 seconds. Melissa Randolf (Everett, Wash.) finished in 25th place with a time of 59.06 seconds, and Megan Robinson (Salt Lake City, Utah) posted a season-best time of 1:00.53 to finish in 33rd place in the preliminaries.
In the 200 freestyle preliminaries, Allie McGavock (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) led the way for Seattle U with a time of 1:58.87 to finish in 33rd place, ahead of Doi in 34th place in 1:59.77, Stephanie Bayless (Spokane, Wash.) in 35th place in 1:59.93, Whitney Dean (Campbell, Calif.) in 36th place in 2:03.00, and Melanie Frey (Seattle, Wash.) in 37th place in 2:03.76. In the early session for the 100 backstroke, Leighter finished in 28th place with a time of 59.58 seconds, ahead of Tiffany Dang (Bothell, Wash.) in 29th place in 59.61 seconds.
As a team, Seattle U remains in ninth place in the team standings with 105 points. San Jose State has taken a significant lead at the top with 503 points, 59 points ahead of second place Northern Arizona.
The WAC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, March 2, starting at 11 a.m. Central time with the preliminaries in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, and 200 butterfly. The finals of the 1650 freestyle will kick off the evening session at 6:30 p.m., and the meet will conclude with the 400 freestyle relay.