Boise State took the team scoring lead on Day Three of the 2016 Mountain West Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the Texas A&M Natatorium in College Station, Texas with 430.5 points through 14 events. Nevada moved into second place with 419 points, followed by San Diego State in third with 366. Wyoming currently sits in fourth place with 309 points and UNLV is in fifth with 259. San José State is sixth in the standings with 197 points, followed by Colorado State (168), New Mexico (158.5), Air Force (142) and Fresno State (127).
Wyoming sophomore Maria Harutjunjan won the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday night with a time of 1:00.21 to set a MW all-time record. The mark passed the previous Championship mark of 1:00.42 set by finals runner-up Lina Rathsack of UNLV earlier in the day. The previous overall record of 1:00.29 was set on November 18, 2010 by San Diego State’s Katelyn Weddle. Harutjunjan repeats as the 100-breast champion. Five additional swimmers joined Harutjunjan and Rathsack in earning an NCAA ‘B’ cut time in the finals.
Boise State sophomore Emma Chard grabbed the MW crown in the 200-yard freestyle with a new MW all-time mark of 1:45.23. Chard led the group of seven swimmers to record an NCAA ‘B’ time in the finals. Nevada rookie Rebecca Murray placed second with a time of 1:46.89, while UNLV senior Michelle Troup finished third in 1:47.18.
Wyoming started the night session with its’ first-ever MW Championship victory in the 400-yard medley relay. The Cowgirls edged out second-place Boise State with a time of 3:35.86 to the Broncos’ 3:35.97. UNLV rounded out the top three places with a finish of 3:37.25.
Nevada senior Yawen Li earned her third consecutive title in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:09.89, an NCAA ‘B’ cut. San Diego State freshman Rachel Kelch finished second in 4:13.96, while Wyoming senior Emma Dow placed third with a 4:19.03.
Boise State junior Brittany Aoyama won the 100-yard butterfly for the second year in a row in a time of 52.75, edging out San Diego State sophomore Summer Harrison by .09 of a second (52.84). The pair led the group of nine swimmers to record NCAA ‘B’ cut times in the finals. Air Force sophomore Elise Hart finished third in 53.59, while Wyoming senior Molly Coonce placed fourth with a 53.71.
Boise State senior Samantha Wicks won the 100-yard backstroke with an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 52.36. Every swimmer in the finals heat recorded a B-qualifying mark along with the top four finishers in the consolation final. Freshmen Isobel Ryan of Wyoming (53.24) and Ugne Mazutaityte of Fresno State (54.06) placed second and third, respectively.
Day four begins with the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries at 11 a.m. CT. The finals competition starts at 6 p.m. CT with the recognition of all MW seniors involved in the meet. The 2016 MW Women’s Swimming & Diving team champion will be crowned at the end of the night.
Live streaming of each event and results, team scores, event highlights and more from the meet is available on the MW Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship Central page at TheMW.com. All live broadcasts are free of charge.
