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Wyoming Ropes Colorado State

Seniors Morgan Hartigan and Amanda Fay combined for three pool records in their final meet in Corbett Pool to lift the Cowgirls past Border War rival Colorado State, 182-110 on Saturday afternoon. Wyoming ended the day with five pool records, winning 14 of the 16 events.

“We knew we could come in and win some events and it was a complete team effort and it was just a lot of fun,” Wyoming head coach Tom Johnson said. “The crowd was great and I know I wouldn’t want to face us on senior day.”

Hartigan, a native of Cheyenne, Wyo., had a career day in Corbett Pool winning three races and setting two pool records. She opened her day with a victory in the 50 freestyle posting a time of 23.24. She followed that up with a win and pool record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.76. Hartigan ended her afternoon with a victory in a pool record time 2:05.40 in the 200 individual medley on her way to the win.

“Morgan has been trying to get those records for a few years and I’m so proud of the way that she swam today,” Johnson said.

Fay was outstanding on the boards for the Cowgirls setting a school and pool record in the 1-meter springboard with a tally of 325.95. The mark also put Fay on top of the Mountain West best list this season. She also placed second in the 3-meter dive with a score of 297.45.

“It was a great way for Amanda to finish her career in Corbett Pool,” UW diving coach Yahya Radman said. “She thought that she wasn’t at her best, but she was very consistent and that led to high scores.”

Junior Jordan Denny added a pair of event victories for Wyoming winning the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.92 and the 200 backstroke at 2:03.09. Senior Stephanie Young and sophomore Keara Chang also added a pair of event wins. Young, who competed in her final home meet of her career won the 100 breaststroke at 1:05.35 and the 200 breaststroke at 2:24.22. Chang dominated the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:08.84. She also claimed the 200 freestyle clocking in at 1:55.21.

Other winners included sophomore Nicole Hlavacek in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:32.09, 16 seconds better than any other competitors. Junior Claudia Carlson won the 200 butterfly at 2:05.56. Sophomore Molly Coonce took the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.72.

“We are just trying to shake out the lineup a little, but I’m just so happy for the seniors and our kids,” Johnson said.

The 200 freestyle relay team of freshman Abby Sullivan, sophomore Emily Ridout, Carlson and junior Melanie McDonough won the event with a time of 1:35.37. The group’s time was almost three seconds faster than Colorado State.

The divers put up big numbers for the second consecutive week. Sophomore Kari Campbell and freshman Keely Bishop both qualified for NCAA Zone Championships in the 3-meter. Bishop finished third in the event with a personal-best tally of 291.30. Campbell followed in fourth place with a personal-best score of 281.70.

“Keely and Kari did a great job and both qualifying for zones is huge for the program and we are very much in the right direction,” Radman said.

The Cowboys participated in time trails to round out the day’s competition. Junior Adam Kalms broke a pool record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:38.68. The 200 freestyle record was set in 1984. He later anchored the 200 freestyle relay team that broke a pool record with a time of 1:22.06.



The Rams put up a solid effort against their border war rival the Wyoming Cowgirls, but fell short 188-105 Saturday.
 
“It was a very tough loss,” Head Coach Christopher Woodard said. “There were some bright spots, but overall it’s an experience we’ll have to learn from.”
 
 Paige Greely had the best performance of the day for the Rams in 1-Meter diving. Her score of 304.58 tied teammate Ariana Milone’s top time of the season and set Greely as CSU’s fourth highest scorer on 1-meter boards of all time.
 
“Paige had a fantastic score today,” Woodard said. “It was really a breakout performance for her, but I think across the board all the divers did great in both the 3- and 1-meter events.”
 
Melissa Bollig was another tough competitor on boards, earning second in the 3-meter event with her season best at 276.45. With this performance Bollig became the second-highest scorer for the team this season.
 
In the pool the Rams came out fighting in the first event of the day, gaining a first-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay. The relay team of Jessica Shepard, Christina Bassani, Tess Simpson and Katie Polich were just short of toppling the fastest time of the season at 1:45.49.
 
Just off a MW Swimmer of the Week honor, Shepard continued her speed into the 200 Butterfly. The sophomore earned second with a time of 2:12.24. The 200 Backstroke added to her success with a third-place finish at 2:10.26. Senior Yana Garvey also had a solid swim in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 2:05.23, earning second place for her efforts.
 
Up next for the Rams are back-to-back meets against Northern Colorado and Air Force. CSU will meet UNC Friday in Greeley, Colo. at 5:30 just before heading back up to Fort Collins to host their final home meet against Air Force Saturday at noon in Moby Pool. To celebrate the final meet of the season the Rams will be hosting an orange out with free t-shirts given away to the first 100 students.
 
“I think we’ve got to put this meet in our rear-view mirror as fast as we can and focus on our preps for the next two weeks and conference,” Woodard said.

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