Boise State had eight student-athletes finish in the top eight of the three individual events tonight to take the lead after day two of the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, 26 points ahead of San Jose State.
The night began with Nevada’s Jiao Jiao Mi and Boise State’s Jennifer Cahill earning the top two spots in the 500-yard freestyle. Mi recorded an NCAA consideration time of 4:51.12 while Gleason swam a 4:55.22. Last year’s second place finisher Sarah Gleason of San Diego finished third with a time of 4:57.09.
In the 200 individual medley, San Jose State’s Kristen Trammell took home first-place honors with a time of 2:03.09 to edge out Margaret Doolittle of Nevada, by three-tenths of a second. San Diego’s Sarah Geerdes finished third for the second year in a row and clocked a time of 2:03.71.
Boise State took first and second in the 50 free, as Amber Boucher took gold with a pool record time of 23.06, followed by Stephanie North with a time of 23.22. San Jose State’s Kiley Foster took third and clocked a time of 23.68.
San Jose State won the final event of the day swimming a 1:33.19 in the 200-yard freestyle relay, a pool record. The team consisted of Marisa DeWames, Meghan McCurley, Heather Denman and Kiley Foster.
After two days of competition, Boise State leads the meet with 230 points, while San Jose State is in second with 204. Nevada is third with 151 points, just ahead of New Mexico State with 150. Northern Arizona is in fifth with 148 points, followed by San Diego (144), Hawai‘i (125), Idaho (99) and Fresno State (95).
Action continues tomorrow at Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio, Texas with the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 1-meter diving and 400 medley relay. Prelims begin at 11:00 a.m. and the finals start at 6:30 p.m.
Team Scores
1. Boise State 230
2. San Jose State 204
3. Nevada 151
4. Northern Arizona 150
5. New Mexico State 148
6. San Diego 144
7. Hawai‘i 125
8. Idaho 99
9. Fresno State 95
Boise State
The Boise State swimming and diving team claimed a lead at the WAC Championships for the first time in program history after day two of the four-day meet. The Broncos set school records in all four events on Saturday and Amber Boucher earned her first individual title to lead the Broncos. The Broncos have 230 points as a team to lead the nine-team field with San Jose State’s 204 points finishing in second.
“We did an outstanding job this morning in prelims and that put us in a great position to compete well for team points tonight,” said head coach Kristin Hill. “We had eight swimmers who competed in the top-8 which is the most we've ever had in a single session.”
Boucher captured her first title in the 50 free with a record-breaking swim in the finals. The sophomore recorded a time of 23.06 to take the top spot with teammate Stephanie North finishing in second with a time of 23.22.
A trio of Broncos finished in the top-8 in the 500 free to begin the day with freshman Jennifer Cahill leading the way. Cahill had a record-breaking swim, finishing in second with a time of 4:55.22. She had broken the record earlier in the day with a prelim time of 4:55.55. Denise Green and Rachael Meisner also scored some big points for the Broncos, finishing in fifth and seventh respectively.
Freshman Christine Raininger led another trio of Broncos in the top-8 of the 200 IM in the second event of the day. Raininger was the top finisher for the Broncos in fourth place followed by teammates Emily Irvin in sixth and Chelsea Lopus in eighth. Raininger swam a 2:04.32 in finals but set the school record earlier in the day with a prelim time of 2:04.23.
Thursday’s competition ended with the 200 free relay and a second-place finish in the event for the Broncos. Boucher, Stevie Hughey, Lopus and North were just barely outtouched as the team recorded a time of 1:33.24. San Jose State won the event, touching just .05 seconds earlier than the Broncos.
“Amber and Stephanie's 1-2 finish in the 50 free was obviously a highlight and finishing second in the 200 free relay was awesome - we came into the meet with the fourth best time and nearly won it. What a great day for Bronco Nation!”
The WAC Championships continue tomorrow with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 400 medley relay and the 1-meter diving. The Broncos are poised to add to their 24 point lead with multiple swimmers in the top-5 in many of the events.
Northern Arizona
After two days at the WAC Championships, Northern Arizona swimming and diving sits in fifth place with 148 points. The Lumberjacks had five swimmers score in the three event finals that took place on Thursday night in the Josh Davis Natatorium.
“We did not swim up to expectations in the morning,” said head coach Andy Johns of the 18 NAU swimmers entered in the 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, and 50-yard freestyle. “We were slow out of the gate, but we are only through three sessions. We will be looking to improve tomorrow.”
Sophomore Kristin Jones and senior Kimber Morelli qualified for the finals in the 500-yard freestyle and both finished with season-best times. Jones placed 11th overall with a time of 5:00.67 and Morelli followed in 13th place at 5:01.50.
The following event was the 200-yard individual medley with NAU seeding four swimmers in the event. Freshman Fi Connell was listed with the 11th fastest seed time, but turned in a personal-best in the prelims to reach the championship final. She reset her personal-best in the final with a time of 2:04.47 and finished fifth.
The morning session closed with the 50-yard freestyle, the deepest event in the championship meet with 77 entrants. Senior Rachael Foe and junior Meredith Egloria each advanced to the consolation final and posted 15th and 16th place finishes, respectively. Foe swam 24.10 while Egloria turned in a time of 24.52.
“Kimber and Kristin swam fast and moved up,” said Johns of their finals’ swims. “They had good swims today. Fi finished in fifth and also did well to move up and swim faster in both races. Rachael and Meredith kept their spots in the final swims.
“Tomorrow is a big day. There are five individual swimming events and one diving event. There are a lot of points still out there.”
San Jose State
Junior tri-captain Kirsten Trammell became just the third Spartan to win individual swimming gold at a Western Athletic Conference Championship, and the 200 freestyle relay sped to its third first-place effort over the past five years, to lead San Jose State University on day two at the Josh Davis Natatorium.
Through seven of 21 total events, the Spartans remain in second-place with 204 points. They are 26 points behind new leader Boise State (230). Three-time defending WAC champion Nevada (151) and back-to-back runner-up Northern Arizona (150) take up the next two spots.
Trammell turned in the fastest time in morning preliminaries, and topped her seven opponents in the championship final in the evening by producing a school-record mark of 2:03.09. She earns a gold medal, first-team All-WAC recognition, and joins former teammate Brie Marhenke and current teammate Heather Denman as the only WAC individual champions in San Jose State swimming history. Tracy Harkins was a three-time WAC diving champion in 2001-03.
The Spartan foursome of Marisa DeWames, Meghan McCurley, Denman and anchor Kiley Foster timed a pool- and school-record 1:33.19 in a very tight 200 free relay, edging Boise State by a mere .05 seconds. The previous school standard of 1:33.55 was set at last year’s WAC Championship by McCurley, Tarolyn Robertson, Daphne Yeung and Lauren Mar.
The Spartan trio of Foster, fellow freshman DeWames and McCurley, a junior, went 3-4-5 in the championship final of the 50 free, with Foster garnering a bronze medal and first-team All-WAC honors, and her two teammates picking up second-team All-WAC distinction.
In her first career WAC Championship race, Foster had sped a lifetime-best 23.66 for the third-best prelim time. McCurley turned in the fourth-best behind her, with DeWames clinging to a spot in the championship final in eighth.
Elana Faria was another freshman who competed in her first WAC Championship race on Thursday. Faria went 24.42 for the 25th-fastest time in morning prelims of the 50 free, but snuck into the bonus consolation final as an alternate for an extra swim at night.
A total of 13 Spartan swimmers qualified in the morning for second swims at night, with five in championship finals. Danielle Smyth and Megan Lomazzi each took part in their first WAC meet races in prelims of the 50 free.
“We had just a great day,” remarked fifth-year head coach Sage Hopkins. “On paper, this is our weakest day. We were hoping just to stay in the top five by the day’s end. To come out holding onto second-place, is just a great testament to how hard the girls raced today.
“Kirsten’s victory in the 200 IM was definitely one of the more gratifying moments of my coaching career, to have somebody who works so hard, day in day out, get a win like that .It was great. She really deserves it so much. The relay was a thriller. That was some great racing by all four of those ladies. They gave everything they had. It was such a close relay, with just .05 seconds the difference. It was a lot of fun.
“We’ve got a real important day tomorrow,” concluded Hopkins. “We’re in a great position, and we would really like to keep making a run at things. We just need to get in the water and take things one race at a time, one lap at a time.”
Action continues on Friday, February 26, with preliminaries beginning at 9:00 a.m. PST and finals in a total of seven more events starting at 4:30 p.m. PST. Denman, now a sophomore standout, will be back in the water to defend her WAC title in the 100 backstroke.
San Jose State at 2010 WAC Championship
February 24-27, 2010
Team Scores (Through 7 of 21 events):
1. Boise State 230
2. San Jose State 204
3. Nevada 151
4. Northern Arizona 150
5. New Mexico State 148
6. San Diego 144
7. Hawai’i 125
8. Idaho 99
9. Fresno State 95
Results (Top times and Spartan swimmers in day two preliminaries):
500 Freestyle: 1. Jiao Jiao Mi, NEV, 4:51.12B; 12. Julia Koch, SJSU, 5:01.25; 15. Julia Craddock SJSU, 5:03.27; 20. Taylor Stoddard, SJSU, 5:08.42; 23. Megan Mills, SJSU, 5:11.31.
200 Individual Medley: 1. Kirsten Trammell, SJSU, 2:03.09; 7; Caitlin Macky, SJSU, 2:05.60; 15. Kristin Yamaguchi, SJSU, 2:07.24; 20. Erin Garcia, SJSU, 2:09.41.
50 Freestyle: 1. Amber Boucher, BSU, 23.06; 3. Kiley Foster, SJSU, 23.68; 4. Marisa DeWames, SJSU, 23.81; 5. Meghan McCurley, SJSU, 23.82; 21. Elana Faria, SJSU, 24.42; 22. Daphne Yeung, SJSU, 24.52; 38. Julie Wynn, SJSU, 24.88; Danielle Smyth, 25.88; Rudie Guerrero, SJSU, 26.10; Megan Lomazzi, SJSU, 26.85.
200 Freestyle Relay: 1. San Jose State (Marisa DeWames, Meghan McCurley, Heather Denman, Kiley Foster), 1:33.19.
