REDLANDS, Calif. – Whittier swimming and diving opened the 2026-27 season on Saturday at the Redlands Pentathlon, hosted by the University of Redlands. The men's team finished third with 190.5 points, while the women placed fourth with 55.5 points. The competition featured five individual 100-yard events: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley (IM).
The men's team turned in an impressive showing, highlighted by several top finishes throughout the meet.
Honza Zika led the Poets with two runner-up finishes, taking second in the 100-yard backstroke (53.86) and 100-yard IM (53.61). He also claimed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (51.95) and seventh in the 100-yard freestyle (48.72).
A fourth-place finish in the 100-yard IM (54.61) highlighted
Alex Song's day in the water. He also earned seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.63), ninth in the 100-yard freestyle (48.96) and 11th in the butterfly (53.60).
In the 100-yard butterfly,
Larwence Thomas secured fifth with a time of 52.88. Thomas added an eighth-place showing in the 100-yard IM (55.28), 15th in the freestyle (49.78) and 19th in the breaststroke (1:02.92).
Jake M. Kiss and
Tyson Lynch contributed top-six performances in the 100-yard backstroke. M. Kiss took fifth (54.42), while Lynch followed closely behind in sixth (54.55). The duo also competed in the 100-yard IM, with M. Kiss earning seventh (55.19) and Lynch placing 23rd (57.27).
Yanis Benhammou and
Zeke Garzon rounded out the men's notable results. Benhammou claimed 10th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.10), while Garzon recorded 13th in the butterfly (53.80) and 14th in the breaststroke (1:02.64).
On the women's side, multiple top-10 finishes highlighted Whittier's efforts in its season opener.
Audrey Phelps paced the Poets with a pair of seventh-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.80) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.97). She also secured eighth in the 100-yard IM (1:03.64) and 21st in the freestyle (57.40).
Aira Takeuchi recorded one of Whittier's best results of the meet, claiming fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.89. She followed that with a 19th-place finish in the 100-yard IM (1:05.44).
Tara Hendrickson added an 11th-place showing in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.10) before taking 25th in the 100-yard IM (1:05.78).
Lea Benhammou and
Olivia Becher also contributed notable swims for the Purple and Gold. Benhammou placed 21st in the 100-yard butterfly (1:02.96) and 23rd in the 100-yard IM (1:05.66), while Becher earned 21st in the IM (1:05.47).
Check out the full meet results
here.
The Poets return to the pool on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Long Beach for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation meet.
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