Smulders, Kay spark Vaqueros to victory in WSC No. 1

Myra Smulders posted two wins and a relay victory on Friday and Allison Kay won the 1,000-yard freestyle to guide SBCC to first in WSC No. 1 women's swimming and diving meet at Citrus College in Glendora.

Smulders, a freshman from Amersfoort, Netherlands, won the 100 freestyle (57.08), the 200 free (2:08.08) and swam the second leg on the winning 200 medley relay. The Vaqueros took three of the top four spots in the 200 free with Catalina Perez finishing third and Jessica Goix fourth.

The Vaqueros went 1-2 in the 1000 free with Kay winning in 12:39.69 and Madison Wayman taking second in 12:52.15. Kay was also fourth in the 500 free.

The Vaqueros won seven of 13 events and topped the five-team field with 98 points. Bakersfield was a distant second with 48 and L.A. Valley was third with 43.

Hana Wigzell notched a first (200 IM, 2:26.57), a second (100 back, 1:07.89) and swam leadoff in the 200 medley relay. Annie Ackert recorded a first (50 free, 26.50), a third (100 free, 57.86) and led off the meet-closing 200 free relay. Ventura won the last relay by nine-hundredths of a second over the Vaqueros.

Haunani Bautista claimed the 100 butterfly by 6.57 seconds in 1:03.09.

"We had a great outing and several Vaqueros stepped up," said coach Chuckie Roth. "At the beginning of each season, we are learning how to create the best lineup for the program. Allison Kay came up huge. She placed 1st in the 1000 Free and 4th in the 500 Free. I was truly encouraged by her performances.

"We had several good swims. I was impressed with Veronica Heidke and newcomer Briet Huff in the 50 freestyle. Bautista had a great 100 fly and Emily Reilly had a very good 100 back.

"This group really stepped up our training last week and I am encouraged on how fast we swam, given the work we put in last week. I am excited and looking for great improvements from the 2020 team."

The Vaqueros will travel to San Luis Obispo for WSC No. 2 on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Cuesta, starting at 11:30 a.m.

WSC No. 1
Women's Team Scores
1. SBCC                98
2. Bakersfield     48
3. L.A. Valley       43
4. Ventura           30
5. Citrus               21