By Sarah Mosteller (@sarahmoste1ler) – Spear Reporter // Photo via SJSU Athletics
The San Jose State swimming and diving team finished the 2023 Fresno State Invitational in fifth place at the Fresno State Aquatics Center.
Day 1
The Spartans concluded day one in Fresno with a fifth-place finish in their first away meet of the season.
The five-team invitational began on Friday, Oct. 6 with the hosting Bulldogs and competition from UCLA, USC, Washington State, and San Diego State.
“This is more of a traditional meet for us,” said head coach Sage Hopkins.
SJSU sophomore Laís Gasparini e Silva was San Jose State’s highest performer of the meet, taking third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.46.
SJSU sophomore Amelia Snyder had a strong performance, placing fourth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:01.74. Sophomore Makenna Sharpe recorded a score of 224.05 in the 3-meter dive, placing ninth overall.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Quincy Key, junior Ela Freiman, freshman Dalton Sickon, and e Silva finished in fourth place, clocking a time of 1:35.33.
“We’ve got a lot of the top swimmers and divers from the West Coast here,” said Hopkins.
After 13 events, UCLA led the competition in first place (710 pts) followed by SDSU in second (484 pts), Washington State for third (447 pts), Fresno State in fourth (299) and SJSU in fifth (257 pts).
Day 2
On the second day, the teams returned to the Fresno State Aquatics Center on Saturday, Oct. 7.
SJSU wrapped up the weekend keeping fifth place with a two-day total of 438 points. The Spartans trailed the Bulldogs in fourth (535 points), Washington State for third (766 points), San Diego State in second (857 points) and UCLA in first (1,207 points).
“[I’m] happy with how our divers performed, and happy with how our swimmers performed,” Hopkins said.
The Spartans’ 800-yard relay team of fifth-year Reka Kovacs, Snyder, Freiman and senior Reagan Mathieson placed fifth with a time of 7:35.43.
Additionally, sophomore Jenna Jagielski placed sixth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 224.05. Senior Alice Ciobanu placed seventh in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:55.64.
Freshman Vilma Lindberg swam a 2:20.18 in the 200-yard butterfly, placing seventh. Freiman took eighth in the 100-yard IM with a final time of 58.69.
The Spartans are taking a trip down south on Saturday, October 21 for the MPSF Open Water Championships at the Long Beach Marine Stadium.