Northern Arizona Women, UNLV Men Extend Lead Heading into Final Day
Pharr, Texas – Northern Arizona women and UNLV men have extended its lead after the third day at the 2023 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships at the City of Pharr Natatorium.
Maddy Rey of NAU won the women's 400 IM with a time of 4:15.61 meeting the NCAA DI B standard. Lindsay Puhalski of NM State finished second with a time of 4:17.53, and Ginevra Molino of Utah Tech took third with a time of 4:18.98.
Camden Swigart of Air Force won the men's 400 IM with a time of 3:48.56. Mike Breitbart of UNLV placed second with a time of 3:49.72, and his teammate Dominik Bujak finished third with a time of 3:50.21. The top five finishers in the A-final met the NCAA DI B standard.
Pia Murray of Utah Tech took home the gold in the women's 100 fly with her top time of 53.41. Paula Martinez Moreno of Grand Canyon took second place with a time of 53.55, followed by Payten Irwin of Northern Colorado in third place with a time of 53.92. Murray and Martinez Moreno both met the NCAA DI B standard.
Adrian Curbelo Tejera of GCU touched the wall first in the men's 100 fly with his time of 46.91. Charles Page-Jones of UNLV came in second place with a time of 46.96, and Gavin Smith finished third with a time of 47.02. The top four finishers from the A-final met the NCAA DI B standard.
In the women's 200 free, Aleksandra Wegrzynowska of GCU captured the gold with a time of 1:48.19. Second place went to Ilyea Losey of Utah Tech with a time of 1:48.66, and Naomi Slee of NM State took third with a time of 1:49.38.
Wen Zhang of Air Force won the men's 200 free with a time of 1:31.20, setting a new WAC record which tops his record from last season. Remi Fabiani finished second with a time of 1:33.72. Quinn Cynor of Wyoming placed third with a time of 1:35.40. Zhang met the NCAA DI A standard while the next three finishers met the NCAA DI B standard.
Maria Brunlehner of Grand Canyon won the women's 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.18. Raphaela Nakashima of GCU finished second with a time of 1:01.33, and Bryanna Ungs of Northern Colorado took third with a time of 1:01.98. Brunlehner and Nakashima both met the NCAA DI B standard.
In the men's 100 breaststroke, Danny Beji of UNLV captured the gold with a time of 52.14. Second place went to California Baptist’s Jonathan Reiter with a time of 53.21, and Jonathan Rom of Grand Canyon took third with a time of 53.47.
Pia Murray captured her second gold of the day, winning the women’s 100 backstroke with a time of 53.17. Murray teammate Ally Boynton of Utah Tech placed second with a time of 53.82, and Michaela Trnkova of CBU placed third with a time of 53.99. Murray and Boynton met the NCAA DI B standard.
Maria Brunlehner of Grand Canyon won the women's 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.18. Raphaela Nakashima of GCU finished second with a time of 1:01.33, and Bryanna Ungs took third with a time of 1:01.98. Brunlehner and Nakashima both met the NCAA DI B standard.
Panos Bolanos of UNLV won the men's 100 backstroke with a time of 45.80. Alex Volkov of GCU finished second with a time of 47.73, and Kody Hollingsworth of Wyoming took third with a time of 48.02. Bolanos met the NCAA DI B standard with his performance.
During the early session, a team diving exhibition took place between CBU and Air Force where CBU’s team of John Angelovic, Gael Jimenez Mentes and Evan Honer scored 372.70 out dueling Air Force’s team of Erik Pfaffenbichler, Tristan Trax and Alex Kenyon.
Abigail Erickson of GCU won the women's platform with a final score of 249.00. Shiori Bak, also of GCU took home the silver with a score of 242.65 and Grace Wesche of Northern Arizona claimed the bronze with a score of 228.75.
Utah Tech won the women's 400 medley relay as Ally Boynton, Skyler Lyon, Pia Murray and Ilyea Losey posted a combined time of 3:38.65. NAU finished second with a time of 3:39.93, followed by UNC with a time of 3:40.22.
For the final event of the night, UNLV’s team of Panos Bolanos, Danny Beji, Charley Page-Jones and Reece Hemmens won the men's 400 medley relay with a time of 3:07.45. CBU took home the silver with a time of 3:09.88 and GCU took home the bronze with a time of 3:10.61.
Day four of the 2023 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships begins on Saturday, February 25 at 10:30 a.m. CT with the prelims of the women’s and men’s 200 backstroke, 100 free, 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly.