This Week In WAC Swimming and Diving - Jan. 15
This Week In WAC Swimming and Diving - Jan. 15
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MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: JAN. 6- JAN. 12
Wyoming's Brayden Love and California Baptist's Evan Honer has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively.
Love, a junior from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, earned two first place finishes in both the 100 butterfly (48.24) and 200 butterfly (1:49.60) which both were 10 top times in the WAC this season. Love was the third leg on the 200 medley relay team that finished second against Denver with a time of 1:29.72. He accounted for 22 points of the 135 the Cowboys earned.
Honer, a freshman from Suprise, Ariz., helped the Lancers in their home dual against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Honer not only won both boards again but set two personal bests this week. He opened the day with a 329.40 score on 1-meter, which was a new personal best and moves him up to third in Lancer history on that event. Honer set a new program record on the 3-meter board, as he won the event with 369.23 points.
WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: JAN. 6 - JAN. 12
CSU Bakerfield's Ariane Skeggs and CBU's Madeline Wiese has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively.
Skeegs, a sophomore from Australia, competed in both the 200 and the 500 freestyle where she earned 1st in both events. Skeegs gave her all when her coach asked her to swim the 200 freestyle (1:55.88) for just the third time this season and that boost continued into her next event of 500 freestyle where she touched the wall almost seven seconds sooner than her opponents with a time of 5:09.38.
Wiese, a sophomore from Laguna Niguel, California, swept both boards with 275.10 points on 3-meter and 272.18 at 1-meter. Both scores are historically significant and rank top three in CBU's record book.
OTHER ATHLETES OF THE WEEK NOMINEES
Other men's swimmer nominee: CBU's Matthew Niculae won three first place wins this week... GCU's Mikhail Lyubavskiy had two first place wins in 1000 freestyle (9:33.54) and 500 freestyle (4:35.64)... Air Force's Zach Nelson won both breaststroke events, while taking second in the 200 IM... CSUB's Alex Dragan swept both of his individual events and apart of two second place relay finishes... Seattle U's Greg Raper had first-place finishes in the 100 free (1:00.95) and the 100 butterfly (50.84)... UNLV's Ogi Maric gets two first place wins in the 200 freestyle (1:40.32) and the 200 backstroke (1:50.67).
Other men's diver nominee: GCU's Pietro Hufnagel Toscani gained two first place wins on the 3-meter board with 372.30 points and the 1-meter board with a score of 323.70... Air Force's Cole Armagost also had two first place wins on both boards... CSUB's Adam Estrella won both the 1-meter (288.97) and 3-meter (278.55) diving events, both scores are personal career bests... Wyoming's Brendan Byrnes finished a career best in the 1-meter board (300.15).
Other women's swimmer nominees: CBU's Rebecca Oviedo stepped up this week to snag three first place wins with a sick Lancers' team... GCU's Robyn Edwards swam to the top in 3 of her 4 events, with a first place win in the 200 backstroke (2:06.02)... Senior, Jayna Van Stone of Seattle U touched the wall first in 2 individual events and helped the 400 freestyle relay team come in first as she swam anchor.
Other women's diver nominees: CSUB's Lauren Carson, captured her first wins of the season in both diving events.
Air Force
Air Force swept Incarnate Word in dual action this past week, 125-95 and 138- 105. On Friday, the Falcons won six of the twelve events overall, while having a top three finisher in all twelve events. To start the match Cole McAnany, Zach Nelson, Andrew Limpert and Matthew Lattin earned gold in the 400 medley relay. To keep the momentum, Wen Zhang touched in first, followed by Wyatt Boswell and Jaykob Williams in the 200 freestyle event. Cole Armagost placed second in both diving events, 1-meter and 3-meter. On the second day, The Falcons won six of the thirteen events and also have a top three finisher in all events.
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The Lancers improve with the win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 143-95. Freshman Evan Honer set a new program record on the 3-meter board, as he won the event with 369.23 points, beating the old record by 10 points. Honer also set a new personal record in the 1-meter with a score of 329.40, which is third in Lancer history. Five other Lancers won races on Friday. Dylan Sweikert did so in the 1000 free (9:55.18), Jacob Leahy touched first in the 50 free (21.25), Joe Molinari took the 300 individual medley (2:59.19), Adityastha Wratsangka won the 300 butterfly (3:01.33) and Robert Moseley claimed the 300 back (2:57.59)
The Lancer's women's team defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 128-115 short nine key swimmers due to injury and illness. Madeline Wiese swept both boards with 275.10 points on 3-meter and 272.18 at 1-meter
CSU BAKERSFIELD
The 'Runners is able to celebrate as the defeated UC Santa Cruz on their senior day. Alex Dragan (100 Breast, 58.38; 200 Breast, 2:08.62) , Benji Duenas (100 Fly, 53.15; 200 Fly, 1:55.95) and Loren Gillilan (200 Free, 1:44.14; 200 IM, 1:56.87) each earned two first-place finishes.
The Roadrunners' women's team helped sweep UC Santa Cruz on their senior day as well. Autumn D'Arcy led the way with three victories in the 200 fly (2:06.27), 100 free (52.58), and 200 IM (2:09.84) while, Mikayla Popham and Ariane Skeggs each clocked two first-place finishes
Grand Canyon
The Lopes fell short to BYU this weekend. Pietro Hufnagel Toscani took first place in the 1- and 3-meter dives with scores of 323.70 and 372.30. Kainan Coerin, Amir Haviv, Mazen Shoukri and Florent Janin finished second in the 200 freestyle medley relay (1:30.97). The Lopes swept the top three spots in three of the events, including the 1,000 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
The Lopes' women's team lost its first home meet of the season to BYU 202-89. The Lopes were led by Emily Muteti and Robyn Edwards with one first-place finish each. Muteti claimed first place in the 200 Fly (2:07.68) and Edwards won the 200 backstroke (2:06.02). Alyssa Christianson took second in two events; 200 Breast (2:23.91) and 200 IM (2:12.36).
UNLV
The UNLV men fell to UC Santa Barbara on friday, 101-87. Ogi Maric touched first in the 50 free with a time of 23.50, Richard Szilagyi placed third (24.07), Panos Bolanos finished sixth (24.39), while Bert Phung placed ninth (25.17). Jack Binder placed second in the 100 IM with a swim of 53.05, but touched first in the 50 breast with a time of 27.00.
Seattle U.
The Redhawks dominated Withworth, 201-61, winning all 14 events on their senior day. Senior Greg Raper earned two first place finishes in the 100 Breast (1:00.95) and the 100 Fly (50.84). Senior Ryan Shaw also grabbed two first place finishes (100 Back, 53.13; 200 Back, 1:57.19). Senior Zach Zenteno led the sweep in the 200 Free, touching in at 1:45.52.
The Seattle U's women's team conquered Whitworth, 183- 79. The Redhawks won 12 of the 14 events, including two sweeps. Allison Plamondon, Bryn Lasher and Margaux Thompson went first (25.20), second (25.42) and third (26.06) in the 50 freestyle. Tessa Oliver, Sherlyn Devadason and Emily Bakewell swept the 200 IM (2:12.68, 2:21.07, 2:21.38).
Wyoming
The Cowboys dropped to Denver this past weekend in close one, 165-135. Wyoming swept the 200 Fly led by Brayden Love, 1:49.60, Thomas Diaz (1:53.49) in second and Cameron Murphy (1:55.64) claiming bronze.