MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The Cal Lutheran men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened competition at the 2026 SCIAC Championships on Wednesday at the East Los Angeles College Swim Stadium, highlighted by a pair of broken Regal records.
The women wasted no time making history in the evening finals session, as the 200 medley relay team of
Julia Benko, Katie Lahood,
Madi Bodhidatta, and
Owan Fralick placed fourth with a program-record time of 1:46.85, setting the tone for Cal Lutheran's first night in Monterey Park.
The Regals also turned in a strong performance in the 800 freestyle relay, as
Victoria Lawrence,
Laine Gilluly,
Ella Call, and
Abbey Kantz finished fourth in 7:50.27 to cap the swimming events.
Earlier in the day,
Maddie Greig represented the women in the 1-meter diving finals, placing eighth overall with 336.85 points. She will return to the boards on Friday for the 3-meter finals.
On the men's side,
Camden Franjieh added points in the 3-meter diving finals, placing ninth with a total of 376.55. He is set to compete in the 1-meter finals tomorrow, February 19.
In the pool, the Kingsmen's top relay finish came in the 200 medley, where
McKay Nelms,
Markus Stegbuchner,
Ethan Lavery, and
Andreas Nordlund placed sixth in 1:33.45. The 800 free relay squad of Nordlund,
Tristan Serrano,
Ian Reece, and
Sebi Petho added a seventh-place finish with a time of 6:54.44.
Bodhidatta continued her record-breaking day during the time trials, clocking a 51.32 in the 100 free to secure an NCAA "B" cut and another team record.
Cal Lutheran will return to action on Thursday with prelims beginning at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 1-meter dive at 1:30 p.m. and an evening finals session starting at 6 p.m.
