UNLV Invite
- Friday-Saturday, December 17-18, 2021
- Jim Reitz Pool, Las Vegas, NV
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Final Results
TEAM SCORES
WOMEN
- UCLA – 1322
- UNLV – 1055.5
- Pacific – 517.5
- Fresno Pacific – 192
- The Master’s – 161
MEN
- UNLV – 1348
- Pacific – 753
- Fresno Pacific – 421
- The Master’s – 294
The UNLV Rebels hosted a small invitational over the weekend, featuring UCLA (women’s only), Pacific, Fresno Pacific, and The Master’s University. UCLA won the women’s meet handily, while the hosting Rebels won the men’s meet by 600 points.
UCLA swept the women’s relays, starting with the 200 free relay. Sophia Kosturos (22.92), Brooke Schaffer (22.74), Claire Grover (21.86), and Gabby Dang (22.40) teamed up for a 1:29.92 to win the event. Coincidentally, Grover would go on to anchor the 200 medley relay in 21.86 as well. On that relay, Kosturos swam back (24.86), Eva Carlson split 27.43 on breast, and Dang split 23.71 on fly, for a final time of 1:37.86.
Interestingly, the Bruins’ 400 medley relay was very different from the 200. Mia Chang led that squad off with a 54.98, Carlson split 1:00.53 on breast, Sam Baron posted a 52.69 fly split, and Delaney Smith anchored in 49.52. Even with 3 different legs than the 200 medley relay, UCLA won the event in 3:37.72. In the 400 free relay, Kosturos (49.25), Schaffer (50.51), Ella Kirschke (49.69), and Grover (48.71) teamed up for a 3:18.16.
Kirschke (1:48.52), Schaffer (1:49.85), Madeleine Wright (1:50.25), and Lauryn Johnson (1:50.54) combined for a 7:19.16 to win the 800 free relay.
On the men’s side of things, UNLV also swept, and are looking like they could qualify some relays to NCAAs at the end of the year. Arguably the best relay of the meet for the Rebels was the 400 free relay, where George Ratiu (43.96), Bryan Chavez (43.60), Richard Szilagyi (43.52), and Reece Hemmens (43.88) posted a 2:54.96. The NCAA ‘A’ standard this season is 2:50.99, putting the Rebels within 4 seconds of the mark as we sit 2 months out from the conference championships. Ratiu swam his personal best of 43.10 in the 100 free back in November at the Tennessee Invite.
Ratiu, Szilagyi, and Hemmens were also on the 200 free relay, which swam a 1:19.46. Ratiu led off in 19.93, Szilagyi went 3rd in 19.76, and Hemmens anchored in 19.45. Steven Butler went 2nd, splitting 20.32. The ‘A’ cut in the 200 free relay is 1:17.07. Panos Bolanos (22.04), Adnan Beji (23.70), Bryan Chavez (20.94), and Ratiu (19.33) posted a 1:26.01 on the B 200 medley relay, which won the event. Casey McEuen, the A relay flyer, swam a 20.71. 1:24.22 is the NCAA ‘A’ mark this year in the 200 medley relay.
In the 400 medley relay, Bolanos (47.95), Sam Willstrop (53.21), Chavez (47.21), and Ratiu (42.95) teamed up for a 3:11.32. ‘C’ relay breaststroker Adnan Beji split 52.59, and flyer Michal Cukanow split 47.11. If they had been on the ‘A’ relay, UNLV would have gone 3:10.60. The NCAA ‘A’ standard this year is 3:05.47. Chavez (1:35.62), Butler (1:40.67), Szilagyi (1:40.23), and Dominik Bujak (1:38.74) clocked a 6:35.26 to win.
Claire Grover had a good meet individually as well, winning the women’s 50 free and 100 free. In the 50, Grover swam a 22.41, beating out teammate Sophia Kosturos (22.60). Grover has a personal best of 21.98. She swam a 49.16 in prelims of the 100 free, before winning the event in 49.39 in finals. Grover’s 100 free PB stands at 48.74, from the 2019 Pac-12 Championships.
Panos Bolanos won a pair of events as well, taking the men’s 200 fly and 100 back. In the 200 fly, Bolanos swam a personal best of 1:45.74, winning the race by 2.5 seconds. He clocked a 47.46 to win the 100 back, which is just under a second off his personal best of 46.48.
Fellow Rebel Christopher Mykkanen won the men’s 200 free, 500 free, and 1650 free. In the 200 free, Mykkanen swam a 1:37.50, which is 2.24 seconds off his personal best. He swam a 4:25.11 to win the 500, touching just ahead of Bolanos (4:25.87). In the mile, Mykkanen swam a 15:27.69, winning by over a minute.
UCLA freshman Eva Carlson and Ana Jih-Schiff had excellent showings in the breaststroke events. Carlson won the women’s 100 breast in 1:00.90, while Jih-Schiff took 2nd in 1:02.14. In the 200 breast, Jih-Schiff clocked a victory in 2:14.44.
Delaney Smith won the women’s 200 IM and 200 free. In the 200 IM, Smith narrowly missed her personal best of 1:58.31, posting a 1:58.51. In the 200 free, she swam a 1:48.73.