Repeating as champions is never easy, but two ASU divers and one swimmer were able to do so at the Pac-10 championships over the weekend in Seattle.
As a team women’s swimming finished sixth. But for men’s diving sophomore Riley McCormick and junior Constantin Blaha won individual championships for the second straight year.
“Obviously, I was happy with my performance,” McCormick said. “It’s a good feeling.”
McCormick, who now has two Pac-10 championships in two years of competing at ASU, also finished second in both the 1 and 3-meter springboard dives. Springboard is not McCormick’s main event, so the success came as a bit of a surprise to the sophomore.
“Getting second in the 1 and 3-meters was pretty unexpected for me because I am a platform diver,” McCormick said.
Blaha won the 3-meter springboard, an event the Sun Devils dominated, as McCormick took second and junior Cameron Bradshaw finished in fourth. Blaha also finished third in the 1-meter.
Blaha scored a personal best in the 3-meter, and his teammates were happy to see him succeed.
“He has been struggling recently in competition, so it was nice to see him do well,” McCormick said.
The Sun Devils also have a Pac-10 champion in women’s swimming as junior Rebecca Ejdervik defended her title, winning the 100-yard breaststroke.
Ejdervik qualified for the NCAA championships with her win, setting a school record in the process.
After setting an ASU record in a preliminary round, Ejdervik broke the record again in the finals, finishing her race in 58.9 seconds.
Her performance was exciting for both the ASU fans and her teammates.
“It was really fun to watch,” ASU freshman swimmer Tristin Baxter said. “It was awesome just to be like ‘that’s my teammate.’ We were all really proud of her.”
Only three Sun Devils were able to come away with victories, but there were plenty of people with great performances at the meet and the Sun Devils were pleased with the overall results.
“Overall we did really, really well,” Baxter said. “I was so proud of us.”
Junior Elina Eggers, who finished second in the 3-meter, was unable to repeat as a champion in the platform dive.
For swimming, sophomore Caroline Kuczynski and junior Jordyn Green were also impressive.
Green finished third in the 200-yard breaststroke, while Kuczynski finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Sun Devils also had a solid relay performance as the 400-medley relay team finished third in the conference.
The ASU men had this weekend off, but will compete in their Pac-10 Championships starting Wednesday in Long Beach, Calif.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
