BERKELEY – A record-setting dive by Connor Callahan and a host of strong swims from up and down the race program helped the Cal men's swimming and diving team get its 2018-19 dual meet season off to a good start as the Bears claimed a 186-100 victory over Pacific at Spieker Aquatics Complex and Legends Aquatic Center.

Sunshine breaking through a cloudy sky greeted fans for the first dual meet of the season and Cal came ready to race right away against the Tigers. Ethan Young, Carson Sand, Pawel Sendyk and Bryce Mefford combined to take the 200-yard medley relay in 1:27.96, setting the tone for what would turn out to be a strong first effort for the entire team in front of home fans.

Senior Nick Norman led a 1-2 Cal finish in the 1,000 free, stopping the clock in 9:07.71 to edge freshman Chris Jhong in his first collegiate meet. Trenton Julian followed with the first of three victories on the day, swimming to a time of 1:37.52 to win the 200 free.

Julian proved to be the day's biggest winner, also touching the wall first in the 500 free and 200 IM. Zheng Wen Quah and Mike Thomas split the backstroke events with Quah winning the 100 in 47.40 and Thomas taking the 200 in 1:45.45.

"All the relay guys put up great times," Julian said. "Zheng put up two 19-mids which was awesome. Seeing that in the beginning made me want to race that 200 even more."

Sand got his senior season underway with a winning time of 54.53 in the 100 breast while fellow upperclassman Ken Takahashi took the 200 fly in 1:50.14. Sendyk picked up a pair of victories with a time of 19.79 in the 50 free and 48.32 in the 100 fly while Andrew Seliskar took the 100 free in 43.92.

Freshman Reece Whitley earned a victory in his first collegiate dual meet, swimming to a time of 1:56.69 to win the 200 breast while fellow freshmen Jhong, Daniel O'Connell, Kyle Millis and Galen Penvenne also got their Cal careers started with their first taste of competition at Spieker. The veteran quartet of Seliskar, Sendyk, Quah and Nate Biondi put a cap on the day by winning the 200 free relay in 1:19.56.

"What I really liked seeing was with some of our IMers, we're putting them in a fourth-best stroke and they're actually getting up and racing it," head coach David Durden said. "I want to see us develop the philosophy and the energy towards racing regardless of the event, whether it's a relay or a longer swim like a Chris Jhong swimming a good 1,000 or swimming a good 500. We wanted to see a little more freestyle out of him because we're going to transition into some more IM-based racing. It was good to see him do that."

While swimming got underway at Spieker, history was in process at Legends. Callahan, a junior who has twice qualified for the NCAA Championships, took the 1-meter board looking to get his third season in Berkeley rolling. The native of Cary, N.C. saved his best dive for last, earning a score of 72.08 on an Inward 2 ½ Somersault Tuck to finish with a final score of 379.28 that eclipsed Sam Helvie's previous school record of 375.92 set in 2006.

Callahan also took the 3-meter competition with a score of 374.55 while Johnny Robinson placed second and Jackson Gabler took third. Cal also went 1-2-3 in the 1-meter with Gabler taking second and Robinson less than two points behind his teammate in third.

"We're off to a good start," head diving coach Derek Starks said. "This allows (Connor) to get back into focusing on some of his newer dives so we can start plugging those into the next meets and really get ready towards the end of the season. I'm very, very happy with the performance today and him setting himself up great."

Cal returns to action next Wednesday when the Bears host Utah in a double dual with the women's team starting at 4:30 p.m. Diving will also be in action at Legends Aquatic Center.