Swimcloud

San Jose State Holds Slimmest of Leads Over NAU at WAC's

By Nick Jahn

San Jose State holds a one-point lead in the team scoring through day two of the 2012 WAC Swimming and Diving Championships at Palo Alto College in San Antonio. The Spartans have 236 points through seven events, followed by Northern Arizona in second with 235 and Hawai’i with 203. Nevada is in fourth with 147 points, followed by Idaho (130), New Mexico State (116), Fresno State (108) and North Dakota (84).

Nevada sophomore Mengjiao Mi won the 500-yard freestyle with a B cut time of 4:46.21. Said Nevada head coach Mike Richmond, "She was really pushed in that race by the other swimmers, and she fed off of that to get the win. We’re also excited to see what she will do in the mile." Northern Arizona’s Emma Lowther also scored a B cut in second place with 4:47.31, followed by Sofija Djelic of Hawai’i.

In the 200-yard individual medley, Northern Arizona’s Fiona Connell clocked a win with a B cut time of 2:01.29. "She just gets better each year," said head coach Andy Johns. "To win it is a great accomplishment." Coming in second and third were Spartan swimmers Julia Craddock and Darcie Anderson, respectively.

San Jose State continued the impressive performances in the 50 freestyle. Marissa Dewames swam a B cut time of 22.38, followed by Aliena Schmidtke of New Mexico State (B cut 22.82) and Kiley Foster of San Jose State (B cut 22.95). Regarding San Jose State’s swims, head coach Sage Hopkins said, "I’m lucky to work with the sprint group. They are a great group to work with."

Nevada’s En-Tien Huang earned the WAC title on the 1-meter springboard, after tallying 305.30 points. Northern Arizona’s Kristy Ardavanis (301.65) and Nevada’s Stephanie Hansen (300.60) finished second and third, respectively.

Today’s events concluded with two more B cut performances in the 200 freestyle relay by San Jose State (1:30.38) and Hawai’i (1:31.56). New Mexico State was third.

Day three events begin with the 400-yard individual medley preliminaries at 11 a.m. CT. The finals competition starts at 6:30 p.m. CT. The 2012 WAC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, February 26.

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