The sprinters from UNLV were the talk of the championship on Thursday night after they set two new league records, both in NCAA 'A' Automatic qualifying times, to lift the Rebels into first place after the second day of action at the 2014 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. This year's meet is being , held at the Palo Alto Aquatic Center. A dominating performance in the 50 free, in which the Rebels recorded a total of 67 points after placing 1-2-5-6, was the key in pushing the Rebels to the top of the team standings with 274 points. Wyoming stands in second place with 267, while Air Force is currently third with 241.
Sophomore Dillon Virva, who ranked in the top three in the nation for the majority of the year in the 50 free, turned in a blistering time of 19.11 to win his second career conference 50 free title, after placing first in the 2013 MPSF meet. That time was more then half a second ahead of teammate Tom Paco-Pedroni and tied for the fifth fastest time in the NCAA. It not only lowed the WAC and UNLV record he already held, it was a new pool record as well, breaking the mark of 19.19 set by former US Olympian Cullen Jones in 2006. UNLV's Samuel Lameynardie took fifth in 19.95 while Guilherme Passos was sixth in 19.98, and they joined Paco-Pedroni in recording 'B' provisional times. Henrique Machado scored in the event as well, placing 14th in 20.43.
The sprinters' night wasn't done just yet for the Rebels, as Paco-Pedroni, Passos, Lameynardie and Virva ended the Thursday session with another new league record, this time in the 200 free relay with a NCAA 'A' cut of 1:17.74, almost a full second ahead of the rest of the field, and the seventh fastest time in the nation this year. It was a new UNLV mark as well.
Though the sprinters were the highlights, they weren't the only Rebels to score on the second day. In the night's first event, Joe Riggert took sixth place in the 500 free with a time of 4:28.90, after setting a new career best of 4:25.51 in the morning prelims, the fifth fastest time in UNLV history. Matt Roe placed 12th with a time of 4:27.53, a new personal best.
The next event saw the third school record of the night fall, after Giacomo Gremizzi touched the wall in a time of 1:45.44 to place third in a tight race in the 200 IM. Jake Priest was right behind him in fourth in 1:47.04, and both Rebels earned 'B' standards. Brandon Meier was 10th after finishing with a time of 1:49.75.
For the second straight day Lucas James made the finals in diving, placing eighth in 265.30 on the 1-meter board. Spenser Sullivan earned an 11th place finish with a score of 246.00.
The four-day meet continues on Friday before concluding on Saturday night.
2014 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
Palo Alto Aquatic Center
San Antonio, Texas
Thursday, February 27
Second Day Results
Team Scoring
1. UNLV - 274
2. Wyoming - 267
3. Air Force - 241
4. North Dakota - 201
5. Grand Canyon - 199
6. Bakersfield - 163
7. Seattle - 72
