FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – California men's swimming and diving kicked off the 2020 Pac-12 Conference Championships with a 6:11.47 victory in the 800-yard freestyle relay to highlight the opening night at Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center on Wednesday.
 
The Bears appeared to earn a second win in the 400-yard medley relay as they touched the wall three seconds ahead of the field, but an early take-off in the third leg resulted in a disqualification. The 400 medley relay DQ left Cal in sixth place (68 points) after day one of the conference championships.
 
In the 800 free relay, Trenton Julian anchored the victory with Cal's fastest 200-yard leg (1:32.24). Zheng Wen Quah led off with a lifetime-best 1:33.31 while Bryce Mefford (1:33.44) and Daniel Carr (1:32.48) handled the second and third legs, respectively. Cal bested runner-up Arizona State (6:12.17) by 0.30 seconds and earned its fifth consecutive 800 free relay victory at the Pac-12 Championships, dating back to 2016.

"I knew a lot of these guys would be pretty quick up front, so I just tried to keep with them and come home strong," Quah said after Cal's win. "I'm glad I was able to pull it out and keep myself in the race for our guys at the back end of the relay.

"There's definitely pressure and we come in here with the expectation to win. I'm really proud of these guys, especially on the back half of the race, for how we performed."
 
Ethan Young, Reece Whitley, Ryan Hoffer and Pawel Sendyk swam for the Bears in the 400 medley relay DQ. Young swam a lifetime-best 46.05 backstroke leg and Whitley finished the breaststroke leg in 50.65. Both times stood because they came before the early kick-off DQ.

TIME TRIALS
Eight Bears swam time trials on Wednesday and six of them finished with season-best times in their respective events. Cal's best time trial finish was by Hugo Gonzalez, who swam the nation's fourth-fastest 200 breast in 1:51.63.

50 free

• Nate Biondi: 19.70 (NCAA "B" Cut)

200 back

• Sebastian Somerset: 1:42.09 (NCAA "B" Cut)
• Andy Song: 1:42.93 (NCAA "B" Cut)
• Kyle Millis: 1:42.38 (NCAA "B" Cut)

100 free

• Shane Forker: 44.26

200 breast

• Hugo Gonzalez: 1:51.63 (NCAA "A" Cut)
• Karl Arvidsson: 1:53.05 (NCAA "B" Cut)
• Jacques Laeuffer: 1:54.87 (NCAA "B" Cut)

UP NEXT
Cal will compete in four events – 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 200 free relay – on day two (Thursday, March 5) of the Pac-12 Championships. Prelims will begin at 11 a.m. (PT), followed by finals at 6 p.m. (PT). The Bears are seeded first in three of the four events.
 
Fans can watch the finals on the Pac-12 Now app or Pac-12.com. Live scoring is also available.
 
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