ATHENS, Ga. – Cal captured two relays, setting a school record in the 200-yard free relay, and Olympian Kathleen Baker won the 200 individual medley, as the Golden Bears took the first-day lead at the Georgia Fall Invitational Friday.
 
Both the 200 free relay and 400 medley relay reached the NCAA A qualifying standard, as did Abbey Weitzeil in the 50 free, Amy Bilquist in the 100 back, and Baker in the 200 IM and 100 back.
 
Through the first six events of the three-day meet, which features both men's and women's teams, Cal has 285 points, to 270 for host Georgia, 218 for Virginia and 159 for Michigan – all schools ranked among the nation's top 10 this week.
 
"I'm really pleased with our performances today," head coach Teri McKeever said. "I think one thing that stood out was our depth in the relays. The school record was a bonus, and I think there is some opportunity to improve there. The 400 medley relay was faster than any time we did last year. The men are swimming great and we're feeding off a lot of that energy, as well."
 
The foursome of Weitzeil, Bilquist, Valerie Hull and Farida Osman touched the wall in 1:26.31 in the 200 free relay, breaking the mark of 1:26.41 from 2015. Cal has won the national title in the event the last two years at the NCAA Championships, and the Bears' time stands as the fastest in the country so far this season.
 
In the 500 free, sophomore Katie McLaughlin took fifth with a time of 4:39.08, which was an NCAA B standard. Chenoa Devine (9th, 4:45.70) and Jenna Campbell (11th, 4:47.60) also made the B cut.
 
Baker claimed the 200 IM in an NCAA A time of 1:53.41. She was the NCAA runner-up in the event as a freshman last season. In addition, Celina Li placed fifth in 1:56.54 and freshman Keaton Blovad was eighth in 1:57.21.
 
Given Cal's success in the free relay, the Bears showed their depth in the 50 free. Weitzeil took third in 21.81, with the next set of swimmers placing 4-5-6 – Osman (21.96), Bilquist (22.21) and Hull (22.22). Weitzeil, a two-time relay medalist at the Rio Olympics, was the fastest qualifier, going 21.64 for an A time in the morning heats.
 
The Bears closed out the night winning the 400 medley relay in an NCAA A time of 3:28.33. Bilquist led off with an A cut of 50.85 in the 100 back – fastest in the country this year – and she was followed by Marina Garcia, Noemie Thomas and Weitzeil. The Bears' B relay also went below the NCAA A time (3:32.67), and Baker achieved a second individual A cut with her backstroke leadoff (51.25). The others on the relay were Li, Osman and Hull.
 
Saturday prelims begin at 6:30 a.m. PT, with finals at 2 p.m. PT. Complete results, as well as live statistics, can be found here.