Mountain West Conference: San Diego State Swims to Three-Peat

Photo Courtesy: NCAA Photos/Mountain West

The San Diego State University Aztecs won their third straight conference title at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Houston from Feb. 21-24.

The Aztecs scored 1,487.5 points, 231 points ahead of the runnerup UNLV, which finished with 1,256.5 points.

Colorado State University took third with 897 points. The fourth-place team was Fresno State, which totaled 886.5 points. Fifth place went to the University of Nevada with 854.5 points. The University of Wyoming scored 775 points, securing a sixth-place finish. With 769 points, the U.S. Air Force Academy took seventh place. Coming in eighth place was San Jose State University with 591 points. New Mexico totaled 417 points for a ninth-place finish.

Mountain West Day 1

Starting off strong in the 200-medley relay, San Diego State University finished in first place with a time of 1:37.94. The relay team consisted of Alex Roberts (senior), Christina Williams (senior), Mai McKenna (junior) and Meredith Smithbaker (junior). The University of Nevada Las Vegas took second place, followed by the University of Nevada.

Vika Yanovska, a senior from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, won gold in 1-meter diving with a score of 330.80 points. The silver medal was awarded to the diver of the meet from San Diego State University, Valentina Lopez (junior). Lopez’s teammate, Jenna Jagielski (sophomore), won the bronze in the event.

The University of Wyoming relay team of Carly Palmer (senior), Kali Franckowiak (senior), Maisyn Klimczak (junior) and Tara Joyce (freshman) won the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:11.15. About two seconds later, the University of Nevada Las Vegas touched at 7:13.41.

Mountain West Day 2

Heading into day two, San Diego State University was leading the pack with 203 points.

Colorado State University’s Erin Dawson (junior) touched first in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:43.76. Frederica Kizek (GS) from the University of Nevada fought hard to earn second place with a 4:44.85.

Ruby Howell (senior) crushed the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.67, putting some points on the board for the University of Nevada Las Vegas. After being a member of the winning 200 medley relay the night before, McKenna came back for a second-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.97.

The 50 freestyle was a tight race with the top seven swimmers all finishing under 23 seconds. Meredith Smithbaker racked up some points with her second first-place finish of the meet, recording a time of 22.24. A close second place finish went to Fernanda Mendez Guerra (freshman) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas who swam a time of 22.39.

After the 3-meter diving final, Lopez stood one place higher on the podium than she did the night before, finishing with a score of 374.20. From the University of Nevada, Melissa Mirafuentes (GS) took second place scoring 363.75. Jagielski made another appearance on the podium taking third place with a score of 349.60.

The San Diego State University relay team featuring Abby Storm (sophomore), Moa Bergdahl (sophomore), Roberts and Smithbaker took first in the 400-medley relay with a 3:33.65. Second place went to the University of Nevada and third place was awarded to the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Mountain West Day 3

After two days of competition, the Aztecs were still number one on the leaderboard with 568 points.

San Diego State University started the night off with their third relay win of the meet in the 200-freestyle relay, touching with a time of 1:29.80. The team consisted of Smithbaker, Rachel Hubka (GS), Avery Turney (junior) and Alyssa Schiller (sophomore). Only .21 later, UNLV touched the wall at 1:30.01.

The top three finishers in the 100 butterfly all swam under 53 seconds. Winning the event was Blanka Bokros (senior) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas with a time of 52.39. Following Bokros was Roberts and Mendez Guerra.

Dawson won her second event of the meet by swimming a 4:11.13 in the 400 IM. Kizek took second with a 4:13.61 and Sydney VanOvermeiren (GS) from Colorado State University captured the bronze medal with a time of 4:16.14.

Joyce saw the top of the podium again after her win in the 200 freestyle, recording a time of 1:46.11. Erika Carlson (s) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas earned the silver medal, touching at 1:47.30. After winning the 400 IM, it only took about 20 minutes for Dawson to walk on the podium again to receive her bronze medal for her performance in the 200 freestyle.

Bergdahl was the only swimmer to go under 1:00 in the 100 breaststroke, securing her spot on top of the podium with her time of 59.97. Aliz Kalmar (sophomore) gained some points for Fresno State with her close second place finishing time of 1:00.05. Williams found her way back on to the podium by placing third in the event.

The last event of the night was a close race between Scarlett Ferris (freshman) from the University of Nevada and Roberts as they were both the only two swimmers to go under 52 seconds in the 100 backstroke. Ferris won the event with a 51.49, Roberts placed second with a 51.95 and Dominika Trentkiewicz (Freshman) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas touched the wall at 53.07.

Mountain West Day 4

San Diego State University was still trailing the competition with 944 points heading into the final day of competition.

The final session kicked off with the 1650 freestyle. Kizek won the event in a 16:11.82 while Maya White (junior) from Colorado State University and Ava Olson (freshman) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas finished in second and third place.

Roberts swam the 200 backstroke in a time of 1:52.92, securing her win by 2.35 seconds. Tess Whineray (freshman) from Colorado State University took second place, followed by Trentkiewicz in third.

The top three finishers in the 100 freestyle were all under 49 seconds. Smithbaker won the event with a 48.54. Mendez Guerra and Joyce joined her on the podium with their second and third place finishes.

Williams broke the 2:10 barrier in the 200 breaststroke by swimming a winning time of 2:09.19. Followed by Williams was Bergdahl and Bryn Busskohl (junior) from the University of Wyoming.

Bokros dominated the 200 butterfly final with a winning time of 1:55.16. Wilma Johansson, a senior from San Diego State University, and Yasmin Perry, a junior from the University of Nevada tied for second place with a time of 1:57.85.

Lopez Arevalo won the platform diving competition by almost 20 points with a score of 340.70. The sophomore from Fresno State, Grace Ally, placed second overall. Mirafuentes made another podium appearance with her third-place finish in the event.

The last event of the meet concluded with San Diego State University’s win in the 400-freestyle relay, touching with a time of 3:16.62. The team consisted of Smithbaker, Evonne Stehr (GS), Turney and Schiller. The University of Nevada Las Vegas earned the silver medal, followed by the University of Wyoming winning bronze.

Mountain West Awards

Dawson was awarded Swimmer of the Meet and Lopez Arevalo was named Diver of the Meet. Mendez Guerra was honored as Freshman of the Meet. Palmer’s dedication for her team and the sport of swimming was recognized as she was awarded with the 2024 Senior Recognition Award.

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