San Diego State Wins Mountain West Championships for Third Time

Photo Courtesy: Mountain West Conference

By Emma Foster, Swimming World College Intern

SAN ANTONIO – San Diego State won the 2015 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Championship today for third time in program history. The Aztecs finished with a point total of 704.5. Boise State was second with 679.5 points and Nevada was third with 554 points.

In the 1650-yard freestyle, Genevieve Miller of Air Force set a MW Champ and MW All Time records (previously 16:15.53 held by San Diego State’s Kelly Marquenie in 2/23/2011) on her way to a win, with a time of 16:13.01. She was followed by teammate Sara Menke who finished with a time of 16:28.38. Both women achieved NCAA ‘B’ cuts. San Jose State’s Riley Spitseter touched third in 16:32.52.

The 200-yard backstroke saw Morgan McCormick touch the wall in 1:54.13, a new MW All Time and MW Champ record (previously held by Breann Fuller of Colorado State with a time of 1:54.40). She was followed by Boise State’s Nicolette Cannon (1:56.20) and Nevada’s Jaeger Turner (1:56.33). All three women were under the NCAA ‘B’ cut, along with Colleen Humel of San Jose State (1:58.06 and Natilee Ruiz of San Diego State (1:58.29). In the B final, Nevada teammates Kate Hofmeyer and Luiza Vierira also achieved ‘B’ cuts (1:58.54 and 1:58.90 respectively)

Anika Apostalon won the 100-yard freestyle, coming in in 47.88, just off of the NCAA ‘A’ cut. Chelsea Bailey followed in 49.06 and Teresa Baerens finished third in 49.14. All top three swimmers were under the NCAA ‘B’ cut.

Li Yawen of Nevada won the 200-yard freestyle with a final time of 2:08.49. She was followed by Maria Harutjunjan of Wyoming (2:15.99) and Lina Rathsack of UNLV (2:13.88). All three women achieved NCAA ‘B’ cuts.

The 200-yard butterfly saw San Diego State’s Frida Berggren win in a time of 1:58.08. Her teammate Summer Harrison followed in 1:58.16, while Boise State’s Jessica Bottelberghe was third in 1:58.60. All three were under the NCAA ‘B’ cuts.

In Platform Diving, Kyrsta Palmer of Nevada won her second 2015 MW title with 343.30 points, which eclipsed her MW All Time record (328.00 on 1/19/2015) and the MW Champ record (previously held by Kelsey Patterson of Utah, 285.95). Erin Kohlbeck of Boise State was second with 274.60 points, and Kari Campbell of Wyoming was third with 273.50 points.

In the final event of the meet, Boise State team of Brittany Aoyama (49.38), Samantha Wicks (48.83), Katelyn Martin (49.46), and Jessica Bottelberghe (49.21) won the 400-yard freestyle in a time of 3:16.88. They were followed by UNLV’s team of Elena Gavrilova (49.86), Lina Rathsack (49.53), Michelle Troup (48.89), and Julia Fehervari (49.30) with a final time of 3:17.58. Both teams achieved NCAA ‘B’ cuts. San Diego State’s team of Anika Apostalon (48.22), Whitney Weisz (49.36), Taylor Johnson (51.07), and Savannah Miller (49.78) was third in 3:18.43.

San Jose State’s Morgan McCormick was awarded the honor of Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the meet, while Kyrsta Palmer of Nevada was awarded Diver of the Year and Nevada teammate Yawen Li was honored as swimmer of the Year.

Team Scores

[table “” not found /]

2015 Mountain West Championships, Full Results – Results

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use