United Athletic Conference

 

Air Force's Adam Grimm and UNLV's Jesse Cawley have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 25 through Jan. 31.

 

Grimm, a junior from O'Fallon, Mo., had a solid showing in the Falcons' dominating win over Denver. He secured finishes in the 200 IM (1 minute and 50.81 seconds) and 200 free (1:40.26). Grimm's altitude adjusted 200 IM time (1:49.21) is also good for the fastest time in the conference this season while his altitude adjusted 200 free time (1:38.66) places him sixth among WAC swimmers.

 

Cawley, a senior from Portland, Ore., racked up a pair of podium finishes on Senior Day as the Rebels took on divers from Hawai'i and Wyoming. Cawley's top dive came in the 3-meter event where he took first with a score of 330.0 points. He also managed a third-place finish on the 1-meter board, finishing with 300.45 points in finals.

 

Other men's swimmer nominees: UNLV's Vuk Celic earned top spots in both of the distance events last week as he picked up first-place finishes in the 1650 free (15:20.88) and 500 free (4:25.90)… Wyoming's Harry Tjaden posted career-best times in the 200 fly (1:51.30), 100 fly (50.71) and 500 free (4:36.59) as he finished second, fourth and sixth, respectively.

 

Other men's diver nominees: Air Force's Cole Armagost posted a monster score of 350.70 in the 3-meter event as the Falcons had an intersquad competition after Denver did not travel divers… Wyoming's Brendan Byrnes was the top diver for the Cowboys as he posted a season-best score of 289.60 on the 3-meter board.

 

Other women's swimmer nominees: Dixie State's Kyrie Sutherland dominated in the Trailblazers dual with Seattle U, earning wins in the 50 free (24.50), 100 free (52.75) and 200 individual medley (2:08.56)… Northern Arizona's Hope Williams looked strong in her first meet back since October, pacing the competition in both the 100 breast (1:02.88) and 200 breast (2:21.52)… Seattle U's Cassie Koester put together her third first-place finish of the year with her win in the 1000 free on (10:52.45) Thursday.

 

Other women's diver nominated: Northern Arizona's Victoria Knapp tallied a pair of podium finishes, placing third in both the 3-meter (251.45) and 1-meter (243.35) as the Lumberjacks competed against Arizona and NM State.

 

The Falcon swim team posted the most dominant performance of the week as they won all but one event on their way to a 204-95 win over Denver in the Colorado Sprint Championships. In the unique meet style, Grant Afman earned the win in the 50 fly (22.48), Isaac Gwin won the 50 back (23.91), Brendan Richichi won the 50 breast (25.49) and Corey Shepard took the 50 free (20.27). Adam Grimm added two individual wins as he reached the wall first in both the 200 individual medley (1:50.81) and 200 free (1:40.26).

 

Air Force also managed first-place finishes in both relays contested. The squad of Gwin, Tory Bartlett, Andrew Limpert and Shepard won the 200 medley relay (1:28.72). Meanwhile, Limpert, Erik Orr, Jacob Bulesco and Shepard combined to outswim the field in the 200 free relay (1:22.26).

 

The Trailblazer women took on the challenge of a WAC road trip as they traveled Seattle to battle with the Redhawks and finished the week in Moscow, Idaho to swim against the Vandals of Idaho. Against Seattle U, Dixie State controlled the meet from start to finish, winning 13 of 14 events while taking the meet by a score of 187-71. Kyrie Sutherland led the way with wins in the 50 free (24.50), 100 free (52.75) and 200 IM (2:08.56). Fellow freshman Gabbie Adams also picked up a pair of wins as she tallied wins in the 200 free (1:57.39) and 200 back (2:07.93). Aliza Smith, Danyael Cuison and Maddie Corder also got in on the action with each earning one individual win. Smith took gold in the 100 back (1:00.70), Cuison paced the competition in the 200 fly (2:12.76) and Corder won the 500 free (5:22.94).

 

In their second dual of the week, Dixie State broke a school record and compiled five event wins against Idaho. Sutherland's time of 23.78 in the 50 free was good for second in the event and marked the fastest time in Dixie State history. She also posted the second-fastest time in school history in the 100 fly (56.62) to win the event. Freshman Akalia Bostock was responsible for two individual wins as she finished first in the 1000 free (10:45.84) and 200 IM (2:10.40). Haley Altman finished first in the 100 breast (1:04.01) and Kathryn Carter locked in the fifth win of the meet as she took first in the 200 breast (2:20.92).

 

Idaho swimming competed in a pair of duals over the week, meeting up with Washington State for the second time this year on top of a matchup with WAC rival Dixie State. The Vandals fell to WSU, but were able to outscore the Trailblazers, 178-110. Against the Cougars, Zoe Froh shined bright as she earned the win in the 500 free, out touching the second-place finisher by 0.37 seconds to finish in 5:05.43. Froh added a runner-up finish in the 400 IM (4:30.58). Rilie Krieg and Rylie Jones added second-place finishes of their own as Krieg took second in the 200 free (1:55.39) and Jones did so in the 200 fly. (2:09.66).

 

On Senior Day in Moscow, Idaho, the Vandals defeated Dixie State, 178-110. The 200 medley relay team of Ani Husaby, Holly Keir, Katie Hale and Jones put together a first-place finish, reaching the wall at 1:44.89. In Hale's final home meet as a Vandal, she collected two individual wins. She paced the competition in the 50 free (23.24) and 100 free (52.14). Kaling Phung tacked on another two wins for Idaho as she secured the top spot in the 100 back (58.30) and 200 back (2:07.47). On the boards, Allison Shimp won both events as she turned in a score of 262.60 in the 3-meter and 258.98 in the 1-meter.

 

Similar to Idaho, NAU swam in a pair of duals last week, one of which was against a WAC opponent. The Lumberjacks were in Tucson, Ariz., to face off with Arizona and NM State in a double dual. Northern Arizona split the duals, falling to Arizona and defeating NM State. Hope Williams returned to the pool for the first time since October and did so in impressive fashion as she won the 100 breast (1:02.88) and 200 breast (2:21.52). Maddie Seidl turned in two winning performances of her own, winning the 100 fly (55.28) and 200 fly (2:01.42). Williams and Seidl were also joined by Sophie Velitchkov and Annie Carlton to earn the third-place finish in the 400 medley relay (3:50.74). The Lumberjacks finished 1-2 in the 1000 free behind swims from Astrid Villeda (10:31.01) and Francesca Criscione (10:31.94).

 

On the boards, NAU's top performer in the 1-meter was Victoria Knapp with score of 243.35. At the 3-meter height, Knapp took third while Maegen Jensen landed in second as she posted a score of 256.20.

 

NM State was also in Tucson for their first competition of the season. They battled in a double dual with Northern Arizona and Arizona. Despite dropping both duals, the Aggies had several bright spots as they turned in six podium finishes on the day. Aimee Burton and Lindsay Puhalski led the way as they each posted second-place finishes. Burton collected silver in the 50 free (23.80) while Puhalski reached the wall second in the 400 IM (4:34.34). The 200 free relay team earned a third-place finish as Burton, Airam Olivia-Aun, Natalia Villa and Neza Kocijan combined to reach the wall at 1:36.37. Sheigh Gaudette also posted a top-3 time as she finished third in the 200 breast (2:26.13).

 

The Redhawks swim team hosted WAC newcomer Dixie State on Thursday. Seattle U fell to the Trailblazers, but the SU underclassmen posted strong performances on the day. Freshman Cassie Koester led a podium sweep in the 1000 free as she finished first with a time of 10:52.45. She was followed by freshman Manna Nelson (11:01.99) and sophomore Michaela Day (11:13.28). Fellow sophomore Danika Himes also looked strong as she managed two second-place finishes. She posted a 2:11.03 to take second in the 200 back while notching second in the 200 IM with a time of (2:11.67).

 

On Senior Day, the Rebel men partook in a double-dual alongside swimmers from Hawaii and WAC member Wyoming. The men split their meets as they defeated Wyoming but fell to Hawaii. Vuk Celic led the way for UNLV as he turned in victories in the 1650 free (15:20.88) and 500 free (4:25.90) while also posting a second-place finish in the 200 free (1:39.51). The 200 medley relay team of Panos Bolanos, Jack Binder, Casey McEuen and Reece Hemmens finished first in a very tightly contested event to finish with a time of 1:29.88, out-touching Hawaii's 'A' unit by .28 seconds. Ivan Zhukau also added a first-place finish as he took gold in the 200 breast (2:03.32). 

 

The Wyoming swim team was also in Las Vegas for the double-dual with Hawaii and UNLV. To kick things off, the squad of Max DeYoung, Mitchell Hovis, Reilly Gilbert and Grant Sloan posted a top-5 finish in the 200 medley relay as they finished fifth with a time of 1:31.85. The Cowboys then received a solid performance from Ryan Netzel who was the top Wyoming finisher in the 500 free (4:34.54), placing fourth. Harry Tjaden also looked strong as he finished second in the 200 fly (1:51.30) on top of posting a career-best 4:36.59 in the 500 free to place sixth overall.