By Ron Smith
February 12, 2025
 
(MONTEBELLO, Calif.) In the first day of competition at the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Championships, Westmont swimmers had a strong performance and broke two school records.
 
This year, the PCSC changed the schedule of events to be consistent with the NCAA Division II format.
 
"Usually the first day is lighter, so having a full day of competition on the first day is very unique," noted Westmont's head coach Jill Lin. "Honestly, we went into it not expecting a lot. Usually we are dealing with first-day jitters and everyone just figuring it out."
 
The morning session began with the 200 yard individual medley prelims which saw Daisy Marquardt earn a spot in the evening finals by posting a time of 2:11.88. In the evening, she swam a time of 2:12.67 and finished in 24th place.
 
"The 200 IM is a tough race, especially for Daisy," expressed Lin. "She has been out with a knee injury and hasn't been able to train any strokes. For her to come out and do that is so impressive. She is so gritty and tough. She was just off her lifetime best, which is amazing because she has not been training for the event at all. Her making the finals and scoring points for the team is really sweet."
 
Next up was the 50 yard freestyle prelims with Willow Pezone posting the Warriors' best time at 24.46 and finishing in 26th place.
 
"The 50 yard freestyle was good for us," explained Lin. "It is not our main event. Willow finishing 26th was huge. It was super exciting that Jackie Kortenhoeven went 27 for the first time. For most of our swimmers, this is their third or fourth event, so it is not a big focus for us."
 
The first Westmont record to be rewritten on Wednesday came in the 1000 yard freestyle. Actually, two Warriors beat the previous record of 10:53.27 set by Olivia Garrison at last year's PCSC Championship. Until today, Grace McAnear held the second fastest time of 10:54.19, also set at last year's Championship.
 
This year, both swimmers significantly dropped their times. Garrison posted a time of 10:44.90, claiming 17th place and improving her previous time by over eight seconds.
 
McAnear dropped her time by over 11 seconds, establishing a team-record time of 10:42.72. McAnear finished in 14th place.
 
"She had a monster of a race," offered Lin about McAnear. "At the end, her face looked like she was in complete shock at what she accomplished. It is exciting to see all the hard work she put in lead to that result."
 
The final race of the first day was the 800 yard freestyle relay.
 
"I have always been passionate about the 200 yard freestyle," pointed out Lin, "It is a true test of a swimmer if they can swim the 200 free. You can't just be a drop-dead sprinter. You have to have some endurance and some ability.
 
"I try to recruit a lot of 200 free swimmers because it is such a dominant event. The 800 yard relay is an opportunity for us to score a lot of points. This was the best lineup that we have had in that relay."
 
The foursome of Kate Spraul, Garrison, Katlyn McCurtain and Pezone finished fifth in the event, recording a new school record time of 7:43.18. Their finish beat the previous record – also set at last year's PCSC Championship – by nearly a second and one-half.
 
"Kate led it off with a great first leg, then Olivia hopped in for the second leg. Katlyn swam third, then Willow was a last-minute addition.
 
"Willow has been working hard all year. She came into the beginning of the season with a broken hand and was limited to kicking every day in practice. She had a super positive attitude and has been killing it in practice. It was awesome to have her be a part of that relay when she was originally a sprinter and not a 200 freestyle swimmer."
 
The team returns to the East Los Angeles College Swim Stadium on Thursday for day two of the championship meet. On tomorrow's docket are the 100 yard butterfly, the 400 yard individual medley, the 200 yard freestyle, the 200 yard freestyle relay and the 400 yard medley relay. The first event is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.