Strong swims from Swinney pace Spartans

The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.

Briana Swinney (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2010) sophomore, San Jose State women’s swimming and diving: The Spartans are on fire — winners of six straight dual meets —and Swinney is leading way.

The former Tolog and returning All-Western Athletic Conference second-team selection was a winner in three events on Jan. 20 to propel San Jose State to a 156-104 nonconference victory over host Cal State Bakersfield. Swinney captured the 50-yard backstroke in 28.25 seconds and the 100 backstroke in 1:00.04 and also swam a leg of the 200-medley relay, which the Spartans won in 1:48.70.

Swinney and San Jose State, which is now 6-1 on the year and has also posted top-four finishes at all three of the invitationals it has attended this season, will be back in action Saturday at Fresno State.

Anthony Stover (Renaissance Academy), sophomore center, UCLA men’s basketball: The former Wildcat, who transferred and finished out his prep career at Windward, registered six rebounds and blocked two shots in the Bruins’ 76-49 Pacific-12 Conference home win over Utah at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Thursday.

With a win over Colorado on Saturday, UCLA has won five of its last seven to improve to 12-9 and 5-4 in conference for a three-way tie for fifth place.

In his specialized defensive role off the bench, Stover is averaging a team-best 1.5 blocks per game.

Hector Harold (Renaissance Academy) sophomore forward, Pepperdine men’s basketball: In 16 minutes off the bench, Harold chipped in four points, two rebounds, an assist and one blocked shot on Saturday to help the Waves snap an eight-game skid with a 74-62 West Coast Conference home win over Santa Clara.

Harold, who helped the Wildcats reach the CIF-State Division V championship game in 2008, is averaging 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game for Pepperdine (8-13, 2-8).