Friday Results | Saturday Results

LA MIRADA, Calif. – The Alaska Nanooks swim team closed-out the Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships at the Splash! Aquatic Center on Saturday night, placing seventh overall in the women's team standings with 669 points. Recaps from both days of competition are below.

Friday, Feb. 15
In Friday's events, Alaska collected four individual top-10 finishes and one top-five finish in the 400-yard medley relay. At the conclusion of Friday's events, Alaska ranked sixth in the women's team standings with 481 points.

"Another great night at the PCSC Championships for the Nanooks," associate head coach Becca Weiland said on Friday. "Rachel had a phenomenal 400 individual medley, Oda earned the Nooks a second-place showing in the 100 butterfly, we played top-16 in numerous races and the ladies finished off the night with a strong showing in the 400 medley relay. I'd say it was a good night to be a Nanook."

Sophomore Oda Bygdnes was named a PCSC runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly, placing second overall with a time of 55.11. Bygdnes' time marked a new career-best for the Harstad, Norway native in that event and her first individual conference honor.

In the 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Rachel Beal shaved off 12 second off of her previous career-best time, placing ninth overall with a time of 4:32.58 to give the Nooks 20 points.

Three Alaska swimmers competed in the 100-yard breaststroke, with redshirt-freshman Kaia Norbye leading the pack with a fifth place finish. Norbye touched the wall with a time of 1:04.89, collecting 25 points.

Junior Claire McElroy ranked 12th in the same event, posting a time of 1:07.27, followed by rookie Whitney McArthur, whose time of 1:08.89 ranked her 14th overall.

Sophomore Erika Kakazu ranked fifth overall in the 100-yard backstroke, posting a time of 58.22 for 25 points.

The Nanooks closed-out Friday's events with the 400-yard medley relay, ranking fourth overall with a time of 3:50.86. The squad included Kakazu, Norbye, Bygdnes and freshman Wanlaya Jarupakorn.

Saturday, Feb. 16
A quartet of Nanooks competed in the 100-yard freestyle finals on Saturday, with two Nanooks posting top-10 individual finishes. Bygdnes placed sixth overall with a time of 52.93, while Norbye ranked eighth overall with a time of 59.35.

Rookies Jarupakorn (54.25) and McArthur (55.98) also moved on to the finals in the 100 free, placing 23rd and 30th, respectively.

Freshman Camille Dayton made a statement in her first conference championship appearance, placing third overall in the 1,650-yard freestyle race on Saturday. Dayton registered a time of 17:47.79, only 00:37.28 behind Cal State East Bay's Peyton Wayment, who placed first overall with a time of 17:10.51. Dayton's time was a career-best for the rookie.

Senior Sierra Kinworthy registered a top-10 finish in the mile, placing seventh overall with a time of 17:57.32.

Kakazu collected another top-10 finish throughout the four-day event, placing 10th overall in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:07.00. Beal also swam in the 200 back, placing 17th overall with a career-best time of 2:06.87, surpassing her previous best time by four seconds.

In the 200-yard backstroke, McElroy ranked 10th with a time of 2:26.83, a career-best.  Freshman Jessica Williamson placed 18th overall in the 100-yard individual medley with a personal-best time of 1:04.16.

The Nooks finished the PCSC Championships with the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing ninth overall with a total time of 3:43.64. The relay team included Norbye, Bygdnes, McArthur and Jarupakorn.

"The girls finished off the PCSC Championships on a great note," associate head coach Becca Weiland said on Saturday. "We racked up numerous lifetime best swims, placed higher as a team this year, earned multiple medals on the podium and had a blast. I'm so proud of all the girls in what they all achieved at this meet."

The Alaska Nanooks will wait and see if any individuals or relay teams qualify for the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving National Championships, which will take place at Wednesday, Mar. 13 through Saturday, Mar. 16 the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks swim team, follow @NanooksSwim on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Swimming team page on Facebook.