Friday, October 16
Santa Cruz, CA
UC Santa Cruz Athletics
vs
Slug Shootout
Banana Slugs End Day One of Slug Shootout in First Place
10/16/2026 8:23:00 PM | Men's Swim and Dive
SANTA CRUZ, Calif – The UC Santa Cruz men's swim and dive team opened the 2026 season at home in the Slug Shootout, hosting NCAA Division 1, Division III, and NAIA competitors. After day one, the Banana Slugs lead in overall team scores with 545, holding a comfortable lead over Rhodes College in second with a score of 419. The Banana Slugs will be back in action for day two as hosts of the Slug Shootout tomorrow, Oct. 17th.
In the Results
UC Santa Cruz opened the meet with a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay, as Sebastian Santiago, PJ Fortune, Morgan Madril, and Kyle Reitan earn a time of 3:19.64. to swim the second fastest time in country this year. Included in the historic swim, Madril swam a 47.63 fly split, earning the fastest in school history. The Slugs also finished in third and 4th; the third-place finish came from the relay team made up of Asher Kates, Karsten Hsiao, Jude Robinson, and Elliott Drottar in their time of 3:24.30. In 4th, Kent Nishida, Calvin Tam, Owen Blanford, and Kaito James collected a time of 3:27.99. Rounding out top Slug scores with a time of 3:36.06 was Lucas Wang, Kaleb Wolfinger, Sam Caplan, and Lucas Blietz in 7th. Dylan Blietz swam first overall in the 1000-yard free in a time of 9:53.75. His teammates Alessandro Faraboschi and Jarod Tang finished closely behind in second and third, respectively. Faraboschi ended with a time of 9:56.49, and Tang finished with 9:59.68. In the 1000-yard free, Ido Haiby ended with a time of 10:19.32 to place 6th, and Michael Fusinati ended with a time of 10:27.82. Through four heats, Nathanael Ridosko placed third overall in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:41.21. Morgan Madril placed in 6th with a time of 1:43.50, and Owen Blanford followed closely behind in his time of 1:43.63. Adam Sinclair rounded out top finishers for the Slugs with his time of 1:44.02. The 100-yard breast brought more great finishes from the Slugs as PJ Fortune led the way in second place with a time of 56.19. Sebastian Santiago placed in 5th with a time of 57.42, and Karsten Hsiao placed 8th with his time of 58.77. Up next in the 50-yard free, Elliott Drottar and Kyle Reitan finished in four and fifth respectively. Drottar posted a 20.81 while Reitan followed closely in 20.85. Charlie Hussain finished with a time of 20.95 to take 7th, and Andrew Koika followed to claim 8th with a time of 21.03. In the 100-yard fly, Morgan Madril led the Slugs in a time of 49.34, and Kent Nishida swam a time of 49.92. The 400-yard IM had Asher Kates leading UCSC in his time of 4:09.20, and Sam Caplan earning third with 4:23.42. Kaleb Wolfinger placed 8th to complete the top Slug finishers in the event. The night ended with the 200-yard free relay, and both UC Santa Cruz teams closely trailed Stanford University. In a historic swim that earned second with a time of 1:21.17,  the team of Kyle Reitan, Andrew Koika, Elliott Drottar, and Charlie Hussain take the lead in the fastest 200 free relay in NCAA DIII. Reitan raced a 20.64 leadoff-swim in the relay, which is the fastest in NCAA DIII this season, and Drottar raced a 19.71 split. In third, Adam Sinclair, Lucas Wooldridge, Eli Caraghe, and Jj Stoen swam closely behind at 1:23.11. Taking 6th with a time of 1:27.87 was Michael Fusinati, Nathanael Ridosko, Dylan Blietz, and Dima Secor. In the final score of the night taking 7th place, Alessandro Faraboschi, Ido Haiby, Israel Gonzalez, and Jarod Tang swam a 1:31.67 relay.Â
In the three-meter dive, Eoin Hempenstall placed first overall in his score of 281.30 for UCSC. In second place was Charlie Shortt with his score of 226.73, and Trevor Masters rounded out Slug scores with 168.05.
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In the Results
UC Santa Cruz opened the meet with a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay, as Sebastian Santiago, PJ Fortune, Morgan Madril, and Kyle Reitan earn a time of 3:19.64. to swim the second fastest time in country this year. Included in the historic swim, Madril swam a 47.63 fly split, earning the fastest in school history. The Slugs also finished in third and 4th; the third-place finish came from the relay team made up of Asher Kates, Karsten Hsiao, Jude Robinson, and Elliott Drottar in their time of 3:24.30. In 4th, Kent Nishida, Calvin Tam, Owen Blanford, and Kaito James collected a time of 3:27.99. Rounding out top Slug scores with a time of 3:36.06 was Lucas Wang, Kaleb Wolfinger, Sam Caplan, and Lucas Blietz in 7th. Dylan Blietz swam first overall in the 1000-yard free in a time of 9:53.75. His teammates Alessandro Faraboschi and Jarod Tang finished closely behind in second and third, respectively. Faraboschi ended with a time of 9:56.49, and Tang finished with 9:59.68. In the 1000-yard free, Ido Haiby ended with a time of 10:19.32 to place 6th, and Michael Fusinati ended with a time of 10:27.82. Through four heats, Nathanael Ridosko placed third overall in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:41.21. Morgan Madril placed in 6th with a time of 1:43.50, and Owen Blanford followed closely behind in his time of 1:43.63. Adam Sinclair rounded out top finishers for the Slugs with his time of 1:44.02. The 100-yard breast brought more great finishes from the Slugs as PJ Fortune led the way in second place with a time of 56.19. Sebastian Santiago placed in 5th with a time of 57.42, and Karsten Hsiao placed 8th with his time of 58.77. Up next in the 50-yard free, Elliott Drottar and Kyle Reitan finished in four and fifth respectively. Drottar posted a 20.81 while Reitan followed closely in 20.85. Charlie Hussain finished with a time of 20.95 to take 7th, and Andrew Koika followed to claim 8th with a time of 21.03. In the 100-yard fly, Morgan Madril led the Slugs in a time of 49.34, and Kent Nishida swam a time of 49.92. The 400-yard IM had Asher Kates leading UCSC in his time of 4:09.20, and Sam Caplan earning third with 4:23.42. Kaleb Wolfinger placed 8th to complete the top Slug finishers in the event. The night ended with the 200-yard free relay, and both UC Santa Cruz teams closely trailed Stanford University. In a historic swim that earned second with a time of 1:21.17,  the team of Kyle Reitan, Andrew Koika, Elliott Drottar, and Charlie Hussain take the lead in the fastest 200 free relay in NCAA DIII. Reitan raced a 20.64 leadoff-swim in the relay, which is the fastest in NCAA DIII this season, and Drottar raced a 19.71 split. In third, Adam Sinclair, Lucas Wooldridge, Eli Caraghe, and Jj Stoen swam closely behind at 1:23.11. Taking 6th with a time of 1:27.87 was Michael Fusinati, Nathanael Ridosko, Dylan Blietz, and Dima Secor. In the final score of the night taking 7th place, Alessandro Faraboschi, Ido Haiby, Israel Gonzalez, and Jarod Tang swam a 1:31.67 relay.Â
In the three-meter dive, Eoin Hempenstall placed first overall in his score of 281.30 for UCSC. In second place was Charlie Shortt with his score of 226.73, and Trevor Masters rounded out Slug scores with 168.05.
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Players Mentioned
Free
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Free
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Breast/IM
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Sprint Free/Breast
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Free/Back
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Breast
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Distance Free/IM
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Free/Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Distance Free
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Dive
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Breast
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Sprint Free/Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
IM/Sprint Free
/ Men's Swim and Dive
IM/Back
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Free/Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Dive
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Fly/Free
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Sprint Free/Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Free
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Fly/IM
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Breast
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Free/IM
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Sprint Free
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Breast
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Distance Free/IM
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Fly/Back
/ Men's Swim and Dive
IM
/ Men's Swim and Dive
Sprint Free/Fly
/ Men's Swim and Dive
