The UCSB men’s 800 freestyle relay smashed the previous school record on Wednesday evening, the first day of competition at the Pac-12 Swimming Championships at East Los Angeles College.
The relay team of Garrett Thompson, Chris Peterson, Kevin Ferguson and Lucas Norman finished in 6:24.55, which beat out the previous school record set last season by a whopping 5.51 seconds.
Thompson’s leadoff leg also set a new program record in the 200 free. He touched the wall in 1:36.01, which shaved .35 seconds off of his previous school record in the event.
The Gauchos placed fourth in the event and the time is an NCAA ‘B’ cut, which currently ranks 16th in the country.
In the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay, the team of Randy Aakhus, Tyler Jean, Wade Allen and Kevin Kuhn took seventh place with a time of 1:30.06.
After two events, UCSB has 54 points and is tied for fifth-place with Utah. Stanford leads the pack with 74 points.
The Pac-12 Swimming Championships will continue on Thursday with the 500 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free and the 200 free relay.
