United Athletic Conference

 

Air Force's Corey Shepard and UNLV's Jesse Cawley have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 11 through Jan. 17.

 

Shepard, a junior from Manassas, Va., had a strong performance this weekend, winning three individual events while also leading two relays to victories. Shepard tallied two wins in the 100 free, posting a time of 44.54 seconds on Friday and a 44.37 on Saturday. His time in the tri-meet with Wyoming and BYU on Saturday ranks him fourth in the conference thus far. He also earned a win in the 50 free, reaching the wall at 20.44. Additionally, Shepard led the 400 free relay and 200 free relay teams to first-place finishes, posting times of 3:01.09 and 1:22.37, respectively.

 

Cawley, a senior from Portland, Ore., turned in a trio of top-three finishes as the Rebels competed in the Bruin Diving Invitational. Cawley scored 611.85 points to collect a win in the platform event, besting divers from the likes of UCLA and Utah. He also finished second in the 3-meter, posting a score of 506.40. Meanwhile, Cawley's 534.15 points on the 1-meter board was good for third.  

 

Other men's swimmer nominated: Wyoming's Ryan Netzel recorded a season-best time of 16:25.35 in the 1650 freestyle to collect the win while also tallying a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:43.72).

 

Other men's diver nominees: Air Force's Cole Armagost picked up an event win in the platform dive (315.60) while also posting third-place finishes in both the 1-meter (297.90) and 3-meter (293.25) as the Falcons took on Wyoming over the weekend… Wyoming's Juan Gonzalez managed a second-place finish in the 3-meter against Air Force, scoring a career-best 317.30 points in the event.

 

Other women's swimmer nominees: Dixie State's Katheryn Carter picked up three wins, including her first collegiate victory as she won the 100 free (53.22) against Northern Arizona… Grand Canyon's Kaitlyn Carr posted wins and lifetime bests in both the 50 free (23.37) and 100 free (51.77), helping the Lopes take down Dixie State over the weekend.

 

The Air Force men's swimming and diving team competed against Wyoming on Friday, taking the win, 145-79. The Falcons were in the pool with the Cowboys again on Saturday as they competed in a tri-meet with BYU being the third team competing. On Friday, AFA was led by Adam Grimm, Corey Shepard and Joseph Moore as each turned in two individual wins. Grimm won the 200 free (1:40.52) and 500 free (4:43.84), Shepard finished out front in the 50 free (20.44) and 100 free (44.85) and Moore was atop the group in the 200 IM (1:51.59) and 200 back (1:52.18). 

 

The Falcons split the tri-meet on Saturday, earning the win over Wyoming, but falling to BYU. Chris Lindley and Shepard were the top Falcons as Lindley won the 1000 free (9:54.41) and Shepard took the 100 free (44.52). The squad of David Tao, Tory Bartlett, Grant Afman and Jacob Bulesco also managed a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay (1:30.94).

 

The Dixie State swim team swam in a pair of conference matchups over the weekend, battling with Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon. Against NAU, the Trailblazers first event win came in the 200 free as freshman Akalia Bostock reached the wall at 58.25 to collect her first collegiate win. Also tallying her first win at the college level was freshman Kathryn Carter. Carter took first in the 100 free, finishing in 53.22 seconds. Dixie State went 1-2-3 in the 50 free with Claire Kieffer leading the way, touching the wall at 24.14.

 

In the Trailblazers meeting with the Lopes, Carter added to her strong weekend as she won the 100 breast (1:04.43) and 200 breast (2:19.25). In the 200 fly, Chloe Partsch recorded the second fastest time in school history as she finished second with a time of 2:10.35. The 400 medley relay team also managed a runner-up finish as Gracie Kroll, Skyler Lyon, Kyrie Sutherland and Bostock combined to finish with a time of 3:54.81.

 

Both the men's and women's GCU dive teams were scheduled to compete in the Bruin Diving Invitational, however were unable to make the trip. The women's swim team was able to compete as they hosted Dixie State. The Lopes took the win, 145-110, with strong showings coming from Kristina Miletic, Briana Rittenbach, Robyn Edwards and Emily Muteti. Miletic picked up wins in both the 1,000 free (10:34.59) and 400 IM (4:32.99). Rittenbach was a first-place finisher in the 200 free (1:54.87) and 500 free (5:12.84). Edwards collected wins in the 100 back (57.85) and 200 back (2:03.34) while Muteti paced the competition in the 200 fly (2:05.29) and 100 fly (55.62).

 

The Lumberjack swim team was also in action against conference foe Dixie State, winning 157-101. NAU started the meet strong as they won the first three events of the day. Sophie Velitchkov, Abbie Nelson, Maddie Seidl and Maddy Rey teamed up to earn the victory in the 200 medley relay (1:46.60). Francesca Criscione followed that up with a win in the 1000 free (10:40.17) while Katy Smith added a win in the 200 free (1:54.72). Later in the day, Annie Carlton collected her first Lumberjack career win in the 200 back (2:06.26).

 

The Rebel dive team was pitted against Utah and UCLA at the Bruin Diving Invitational over the weekend. Senior Jesse Cawley led the way for UNLV on the 1-meter board, coming up with 543.15 combined points to place third. In his first collegiate outing, Jamie Spilchak posted a fourth-place finish as he finished with an overall score of 521.25.

 

The Wyoming team followed the same path as Air Force, competing in a dual with the Falcons on Friday and taking on AFA and BYU in a tri-meet on Saturday. On Friday, the 1650 freestyle saw Ryan Netzel take the top spot as he finished with a time of 16:25.35. Mitchell Hovis managed a third-place finish in the 200 IM (1:55.75) while his time of 2:03.68 in the 200 breast was good for second. The team of Austin Crump, Grant Sloan, Netzel and Max DeYoung combined for a runner-up finish in the 400 free relay (3:27.91).

 

On Saturday, the Cowboys Harry Tjaden posted a career-best time of 9:59.74 to take second early in the day. Thomas Diaz finished sixth in the 400 IM, reaching the wall at 4:11.26. Another sixth-place finish was tallied by Crump in the 100 free (46.36). Hovis managed a strong outing in the 100 breast, touching second with a time of 56.12. On the boards, Juan Gonzalez led the way for Wyoming as he finish second in the 3-meter (317.30) and fourth in the 1-meter (297.05).