Complete Release in PDF Format
MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: OCT. 2-9
Grand Canyon's Mark Nikolaev and Pietro Hufnagel Toscani have been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 2-9.
Nikolaev, a junior from Seltso, Russia, won first place in all four events he entered in individually and helped his team win two relays in the Florida International University Fall Classic. He recorded the best swim of the meet with his 100 back (47.97) as the lead-off swimmer in the relay. His times for the 200 back (1:48.31), 200 medley (1:50.77) and 100 back were all the top times in the WAC. He also competed individually in the 100 back (48.50) and 400 medley (4:04.35). All six times he recorded were in the top 25 of the FIU Fall Classic meet.
Hufnagel Toscani, a sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, came in first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events at the FIU Fall Classic. He became the first Grand Canyon athlete this year to qualify for the DI NCAA Championships with his scores of 323.80 in the 3-meter dive and 318.10 in the 1-meter.
WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: OCT. 2-9
Grand Canyon's Alyssa Christianson and Idaho's Janelle Lucas have been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 2-9.
Christianson, a sophomore from Montrose, Colo., posted the best scores in the WAC in the 200 breast (2:19.61) and 200 medley (2:07.59) while right behind her teammate in the 400 medley (4:30.44). She came in first place in the 200 breast which was ranked the 17th best swim of the Florida International University Fall Classic. She helped her team get third place beating out Texas Christian, Army, George Washington and Florida Atlantic and just falling to host Florida International and Buffalo.
Lucas, a junior from Mission Viejo, Calif., earned two wins and two runner-up finishes this past weekend as she competed against College of Idaho and Boise State. She won both 3-meter springboard competitions with a 248.55 score at College of Idaho and qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships with her score of 288.90 at Boise State. She came in second at College of Idaho in the 1-meter (256.60) as well as at Boise State (260.33).
OTHER ATHLETES OF THE WEEK NOMINEES
Other men's swimmer nominees: Air Force's Steffen Mount dominated in the Intermountain Shootout with four individual first place finishes (50 free, 50 fly, 100 free and 100 fly) and helped his relay teams win a couple (200 medley and 200 free) as well… CSU Bakersfield's Jake Chir came in first place in both the 100 breast (56.17) and 200 breast (2:05.66) against Southern California.
Other women's swimmer nominee: CSU Bakersfield's Jayssie Haynes had near personal best times in both the 200 free (1:53.55) and 500 free (5:00.12) against Southern California and Oregon State.
Other men's diver nominee: Air Force's Nicholas Piontek placed fifth in both the 1-meter (265.95) and 3-meter (276.95) dives at the Intermountain Shootout.
Other women's diver nominee: Grand Canyon's Menna Elmidany placed third in the 3-meter springboard (243.80) and fifth in the 1-meter (230.80) events.
THIS WEEK IN WAC SWIMMING AND DIVING
AIR FORCE
The Falcon men came out 2-0 in the Intermountain Shootout as they defeated the host Colorado Mesa 305-85 and also beat BYU 228-165. Air Force held on to their day one lead on both teams throughout day two, also starting the day with a first place finish in the 200 free relay with the team of Michael Hannigan, Cameron McAnany, Lars Knutson and Steffen Mount. Freshman Peter Lochmaier earned a first place finish in the 200 fly while 2017 WAC Newcomer of the Year earned first place in the 500 free. Garrett Glaudini and Collin Green finished first and second in the 500 free as well, respectively. Air Force dominated the 100 free, as Mount took first, Hannigan second and Knutson third in the event. Mount also won the 100 fly later in the meet while Zach Nelson took first in the 200 breast. The Falcons swept the relays on day two, as the team of McAnany, Knutson, Brockman and Hannigan won the 400 free.
CSU BAKERSFIELD
CSU Bakersfield's men's team traveled to face No. 11 Southern California and fell by a score of 201-94.Jake Chir won both the 100 breaststroke (56.17) and 200 breaststroke (2:05.66), out touching USC's Billy Monjay by a mere tenth of a second in the latter race. The 200 medley relay team of Kris Rogic, Jake,Loren Gillilan, and Lovre Soric posted a time of 1:32.35, which was less than three seconds outside of CSUB's Top 5 all-time list. Ethan Trieu finished fourth in the 100 back with a time of 51.82. Gillilan beat USC's Cash Deloache by almost two tenths of a second in the 50 free with a time of 21.12. In his first collegiate meet, he was only 1.08 seconds off of the CSUB all-time record. Soric finished fourth in the 500 free (4:43.06) while Rogic placed fourth in the 200 back (1:53.50).
The CSU Bakersfield women's team fell to the No. 7 Southern California 184-104, but dominated the Oregon State 203-88 in a big win to kick off the year. Jayssie Haynes led the way for the `Runners, posting times near her personal bests in both the 200 (1:53.55) and 500 free (5:00.12). Summer D'Arcy finished fourth in the 200 breast (2:24.74) and sixth in the 100 breast (1:07.32). Alisa Cooke placed third in the 50 free with a new PR of 24.65. Morgan King posted solid times in the 100 fly (58.18), 50 free (24.71), and 100 free (53.48). Alyssa Madero placed third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.98.
GRAND CANYON
The Grand Canyon's men finished first among six teams with a total of 505 points in the Florida International University Fall Classic. Mark Nikolaev led the men's team with four individual first place finishes in the 200-yard IM (1:50.77), 200-yard backstroke (1:48.31), 100-yard backstroke (48.50), and 400-yard IM (4:04.35). The 400-yard medley relay - which consisted of Nikolaev, Youssef El Kammash, Daniil Antipov and Mazen El Kamash - finished on top after 3:19.40. Pietro Hufnagel-Toscani's outstanding performances in both diving events allowed him to become the first GCU athlete this year to qualify for the D1 NCAA Championships, scoring 323.80 in the 3-meter dive and 318.10 in the 1-meter.
The women finished third among eight, just 39 points behind the second place squad, with a total of 441 points in the FIU Fall Classic. Alyssa Christianson placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.61) while Diana Jaruseviciute and Marina McInelly placed second in their events to help rack up points for the Lopes on the women's side. Jaruseviciute swam the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.86 and McInelly finished the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:05.47.
IDAHO
The University of Idaho women's opened up the 2017-18 season with a 228-61 win at College of Idaho. The Vandals won 15 of the 16 events, including sweeping the top three spots in six events. Idaho won two relays and 13 individual events, with 12 different Vandals posting an individual win. Allie Magrino was the lone multi-event winner, sweeping the 100- and 200-yard backstroke races. Magrino won the 200 backstroke by more than four seconds. Maryann Kok Cher Ling anchored both winning relay teams, swimming the freestyle leg of the 200-yard medley relay and bringing home the victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Kok added an individual win in the 50 freestyle, clocking a 25.21. Maren Seljevold and Janelle Lucas each earned a first- and second-place finish in the two diving events. Seljevold opened the meet with a win on one-meter, earning a score of 258.90 to edge out Lucas at 256.60. Lucas responded on three-meter, garnering her first victory of the season with a 248.55. Seljevold took second at 235.10.
Idaho then suffered a 167-122 loss at Boise State. Aimee Iwamoto led the way in both breaststroke events. Iwamoto took second in the 200-yard race, clocking a 2:26.20. She was followed immediately by a pair of Vandal teammates who finished in a tie for third. Cara Jernigan and Lauren Votava both touched the wall at 2:26.58. Iwamoto took third in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:06.97. Emma Schlyter took second in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.85. She also scored in the 100 freestyle (54.87) and the 500 freestyle (5:11.53), while also leading off Idaho's top 400-yard freestyle relay team. Janelle Lucas earned her three-meter victory with a 288.90, qualifying for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships in the process. She also finished runner-up on one-meter with a 260.33. Marin Seljevold took third on one-meter and fourth on three-meter.
NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado started off the season against Denver, Wyoming and Colorado School of Mines during the Denver University Relays where the Bears finished third in the event with a total of 788 points. The traditional 200 yard medley relay began the day with the Bears taking fourth place. Then the Pioneers mixed in some creative relay combinations, a 3x500 (3rd place) freestyle, 3x100 (4th) butterfly, 3x100 (3rd) backstroke and 3x100 (3rd) breast relay. In the 4x25 free relay, the top UNC team came in fifth and in the 4x100 IM relay saw UNC come in fourth. During a the 500 yard 50-100-150-200 relay the Bears top finishing took fourth. It's 100 yard medley relay team would follow that with a fifth place finish.The 400 yard freestyle relay finished up the day for UNC with another fourth place finish, just 10 second off the top time. The Bears best relay finish came in the 3x100 backstroke where the team of Valeria Mihhailova, Ioanna Sacha and Leilani Herrera finished third in a time of 2:56.82, just six seconds from the top spot.
WYOMING
Wyoming men's team placed second at the DU Relays on Saturday at the El Pomar Natatorium. The Cowboys also placed second with two race victories, finishing with 802 points behind Denver with 1,130 points. The men finished first in the 3x100 butterfly relay with a time of 2:30.72 by senior Jacob Porter, junior Jack Herron and senior Wade Nelson. The Cowboys also won the 3x100 breaststroke relay, with the team of senior Kyle White, freshman Mitch Hovis and senior Liam Holt finishing in 2:51.88. UW also placed second and third in the 200 mixed medley relay with times of 1:40.15 and 1:40.39.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2018 WAC Swimming and Diving Championship returns to Houston, Texas. Last year Air Force won its second straight WAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship while Northern Arizona took home the women's crown for the fourth straight year.