Courtesy of Mike Brohard
HOUSTON – Flip the calendar. Change the meet structure.
Didn’t make a difference to Washington State.
The Cougars opened up the 2026 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships with a trio of wins on the day, each of them in defense of a title from the 2025 meet and both individual wins carrying automatic qualifications for the NCAA Championships.
Emily Lundgren held off a charge from Grace Wharton of UNLV to win the 200-yard individual medley by .08 seconds with a 1:57.94. A race later, sophomore Darcy Revitt backed up her 50 free championship with a time of 21.84, still ranking second in conference history, just a shade faster. Both of them hit the NCAA qualifying standard, and under new NCAA guidelines, doing so while winning a conference championship earns an automatic invitation to the meet in Atlanta on March 18-21.
With Revitt and Lundgren in the lineup, the Cougars wrapped up the day by capturing the 400 medley relay title for the second consecutive year, posting a time of 3:32.64, the second fastest time in conference history. The quad was rounded out by Anna Rauchholz and Ashlyn Hernandez.
Led by that top-end speed, the Cougars took the early lead in the meet, 292-275.5 over a San Diego State team shooting to wear the crown a fifth consecutive year.
Two other titles were claimed on the day, each with a defending champion in the lanes. In a Silver State showdown, Ava Olson of UNLV clipped Nevada’s Huska Batbayar by .07, hitting the wall in 4:43.08 and raising her arm in celebration after coming in the top seed from the preliminary heats.
In the diving well, Wyoming’s Alicia Gonzalez posted an impressive 333.75 to top 2025 champ Bailey Heydra of Nevada, who also eclipsed the 300 barrier at 315.80 after Hydra was the only one to do so (309.80) in the prelims.
Thursday’s preliminary session begins at 10:30 a.m. (CT), with the finals set for a 6 p.m. start. Three individual swimming events, a relay and the 3-meter springboard will be contested.
