The Mariners enjoyed an exceptional day in the East Bay as they ran rampant through their competition at Chabot College on Saturday. Nick Cruse took first place in three separate events, Thomas Brawley was victorious in the diving competition while the Marin relay teams all posted excellent finishes. It was a fantastic way to finish the regular season as championships are right around the corner.
Cruse was immaculate in his performance taking his first victory of the day in the Men's 400 Yard IM. He finished in 4:24.12 more than 16 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. He won the 200 Yard Butterfly in 1:59.48 by a margin of nearly 15 seconds again. In the 100 Yard Butterfly he was victorious again in a time of 53.71 seconds.
Thomas Brawley was tops in his diving competition crushing the second place competitor by more than 23 points. His finals score of 131.10 was well above the second place finisher's score of 107.63. The result boosted Brawley's season performance and earned him a berth in the Conference Diving Championships on April 14th.
The Marin relay teams did very well on the day. The Women's 400 Yard Medley Relay saw the Mariners in third position. The team of Dominique Duro, Maria Chumbers, Sophia Bruinsma and Skylar Rios-Merwin finished in a time of 4:45.56. In the same race on the men's side Arel Shoua, Ferguson Cherry, Scott Swanson and Nick Cruse combined to take third in a time of 4:07.85. In the 200 Yard Women's Freestyle Relay Shannon Madsen, Bruinsma, Duro and Rios-Merwin combined for a nail-biting third place finish. Their time of 1:51.80 was just 1.75 seconds off of the first place time.
Duro had three podium times on the day. She took third in her first individual event of the day, the 200 Yard Backstroke. She had a final time of 2:18.46, ahead of teammates Rios-Merwin and Dakota Chamberlain who took ninth and 11th respectively. Duro's next feat was in the 100 Yard Backstroke where she placed third in 1:04.35. Rios-Merwin and Chamberlain both competed as well and took 9th and 11th. Duro's best finish was in her last event of the day, the 100 Yard Freestyle. She took second in 57.53 second, just .02 seconds behind the winner.
Bruinsma had a solid showing on the day with a trio of top ten finishes. She took fifth place in the Women's 50 Yard Freestyle in 26.93 seconds just one second out of first place. She was eighth in the 100 Yard Breast in 1:20.29 seconds. Her best showing game in the 200 Yard Breast as she was third in a time of 2:56.10.
It was an excellent day for the all the Mariners. The team has Conference Championships dead ahead and hope to continue their excellent season.