Cal Poly Swim and Dive struck gold twice in a dramatic close to one of their strongest seasons in recent memory.
The Mustangs traveled to the Big West Swim and Dive Championships in Houston, Texas, from Feb. 12-15. The men’s team finished third with 603 points, and the women’s team finished sixth with 268 points.
Juniors Evan Yoo and Drew Huston, the Mustangs’ No. 1 and 2 ranked swimmers, took home conference championships in their events.
Huston’s win in the 200-yard backstroke was his second conference title since joining Cal Poly and reset his own program record.
Yoo took the 200-yard breaststroke, resetting his program mark as well, setting a Big West record.
He had ended the season with three straight meets winning all individual events he competed in.
It was the Mustangs’ first time competing in the Big West since 2010 when they rejoined the conference before the start of the season.
Going into the tournament, the Mustangs were undefeated in conference dual meets but faced a tough challenge against UC Santa Barbara, who swept this year’s championship.
Mustangs setting program records
Both the men’s and women’s teams came out swimming fast from day one of the tournament.
To open events, each 200-yard medley relay team sets program records, and the women’s team consists of junior Kiersten Weiler, junior Melia Costa, junior Mikaela Gomez and senior Summer Cheng.
It was the fourth time this year that the men’s relay team of Huston, Yoo, junior Finn Schlamp and junior Jonathan Butler reset their own program record.
The Mustangs ended the championships with 17 new top-five marks in program history.
Six of those were all-time program records.
The third relay to set a program mark was in the 200-yard freestyle relay, with a squad of Huston, Butler, freshman Lucas Crother-Collado and senior Evan O’Connell, who had been inching closer to the record all season.
Yoo added a 200-yard individual medley program record to his breaststroke win, and Huston’s backstroke title rounded out the standout group.
What’s next for Cal Poly
Most swimmers and divers will be done for the summer, but those who finished the highest in their respective events still have a shot at last-chance meets or NCAA qualifier events that determine who goes to the NCAA Championships.
Yoo will most likely go this year for the Mustangs, as he has consistently posted the B-cut times needed to make an NCAA last-chance meet.
Last year, Huston and junior Alex Seybold represented Cal Poly at last-chance meets in Washington. Both landed then-program record B-cut times but missed out on the A-cut finish needed for an NCAA bid.
Huston also qualified for Olympic trials at the end of last season. He missed out on qualifying but finished 37th out of 63 competitors, a strong finish for the swimmer seeded 52nd heading to the event.
The rest of the roster will turn their attention to next season and look to build on their promising results from the end of the year.