Cal Poly senior
John Michelmore (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) tacked up his first Big West Male Swimmer of the Week honor after a busy Saturday at the UC Irvine Invitational. In the Sprint Meet, he took first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.35) and second in the 50 (27.50) and 100 breaststroke (57.64) events. Michelmore finished the meet with two more sixth-place finishes (200 IM and 500 freestyle) and eighth in the 400 IM.
UC Irvine junior Lara Bjargardottir (Reykjavik, Iceland/Flensborg HS) rang in the new year with her first Big West Female Swimmer of the Week award of the season after a scalding performance at the UC Irvine Invitational that included three UCI season-best times. She pinned up two first-place finishes at the Sprint Meet, clocking a 2:18.51 in the 200 breaststroke and 2:05.02 in the 200 IM. The following day, Bjargardottir sped to first in the 400 IM in a time of 4:27.56. The 200 breaststroke time is the fastest in the Big West this season.