Cal Completes Relay Sweep In Minnesota
Ema Rajic swam to the No. 2 200-yard breaststroke time in school history Saturday.

Cal Completes Relay Sweep In Minnesota

Bears Win 400 Free Relay; Weitzeil Earns 100 Free Victory

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MINNEAPOLIS – Senior Abbey Weitzeil won her third individual race and Cal finished off a sweep of the relay events with a victory in the 400-yard free relay, as the Golden Bears completed four days of events Saturday at the Minnesota Invitational.
 
Weitzeil set an American record in the 50 free Thursday (20.90) and captured the 200 free Friday (1:42.25). On Saturday, she came within an eyelash of the Cal record in the 100 free when she won in 46.52, missing the mark by a mere 0.17 seconds and good for the No. 2 time in the country. Weitzeil led four Bears in the A final, as Robin Neumann was fifth (48.59), Ayla Spitz seventh (49.12) and Eloise Riley eighth (49.79).
 
The 400 free relay closed out the meet and the foursome of Isabel Ivey, Keaton Blovad, Neumann and Weitzeil posted a time of 3:10.99, which rates as the fastest in the country this year. The win made Cal 5-for-5 on relays with earlier victories in the 200 and 800 free relays and the 200 and 400 medley relays. The Bears rank first or second among NCAA schools in each race.
 
In the 1650 free, freshmen Sarah DiMeco and Anna Kalandadze posted sixth and seventh fastest times in school history, respectively. DiMeco finished the distance event in 16:11.14, good for fourth place on the afternoon, while Kalandadze was fifth in 16:12.01. Both of their marks place them among the top 20 in the country this season.
 
Sophomore Ema Rajic put up a personal-best time during her runner-up finish in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:08.23, which makes her the No. 2 performer in Cal history behind only Caitlin Leverenz's 2012 school record of 2:04.76. It's also ties her for sixth nationally this season. In addition. Ali Harrison was fourth in 2:12.65.
 
Rachel Klinker, who swam to ninth place in the 1650 free earlier in the day, took second in the 200 butterfly in 1:55.07 to become the eight-best performer in the country this year. Sarah Darcel claimed the B final in 1:57.65.
 
Senior Keaton Blovad led three Bears in the final of the 200 back with a fifth-place finish in 1:54.02. Alicia Wilson was sixth in 1:54.17 and Isabel Ivey seventh in 1:55.78. In addition, Courtney Mykkanen earned first place in the B final in 1:55.23.
 
Briana Thai had a strong result in platform diving, taking third place with 227.60 points, her highest score in the event in two years. Freshman Graham was 10th with 189.05 points.
 
Overall, Cal captured the Minnesota Invitational team title with 1,158.5 points. Michigan was second with 813.5 and Texas third with 586. Arizona, Minnesota, Harvard and Iowa rounded out the field.
 
The Bears will remain in Minneapolis for a long-course time trial on Sunday before returning to Berkeley to host San Jose State on Dec. 21 at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
 
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