ATHENS, Ga. – Elizabeth Pelton edged teammate Missy Franklin to win the 200-yard individual medley in the fastest time in the nation so far this year, highlighting California's opening night at the Georgia Fall Invitational Friday.

Pelton, who finished fourth in the 200 IM at last season's NCAA Championships, came through in a personal-best 1:52.93, just out-touching Franklin, who was clocked in 1:52.99. Both times met the NCAA A automatic qualifying standard, and the Golden Bear tandem now ranks second and third, respectively, on Cal's all-time list. Only a 1:51.77 by Olympic medalist Caitlin Leverenz in 2012 stands ahead of them.

“I'm really proud of the effort of the girls tonight,” head coach Teri McKeever said. “I think we showed a lot of fight, especially after a tough day of travel from the Bay Area to Georgia yesterday. Missy and Elizabeth staged a great race and we had a number of people pick up A times. We just need to keep it rolling again tomorrow.”

Cal started off the meet with a come-from-behind win in the 200 free relay. The Bears were down by half a second to Georgia entering the final leg when Farida Osman closed with a 21.49 split to win the race to the wall. The Cal foursome of Franklin, Rachel Bootsma, Kaylin Bing and Osman finished in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:27.51 to Georgia's 1:27.83.

In the 500 free, freshman Cierra Runge hit the NCAA A mark with a time of 4:34.81, which was second to Leah Smith of Virginia (4:32.70). The mark also puts Runge at No. 2 on Cal's all-time list behind only Franklin's 4:32.66 from last season.

Osman placed third in the 50 free in 22.10 – a personal best by 0.01 – while Bing claimed the B final in 22.35.

In the final event of the night, the Bears' 400 medley relay of Pelton, Marina Garcia, Noemie Thomas and Franklin took second to Virginia in an NCAA A time of 3:31.25.

Overall, Cal had five swims that met the NCAA A standard and 11 more that met the NCAA B requirement.

The three-day meet features nine teams, including six of the top 25 programs in the country, and competition continues through Sunday. The Bears, who did not bring their divers to the meet, stand in third place with 223 points. Georgia is first with 277 points and Virginia second with 230. For complete results, click here.