SAN DIEGO STATE WINS THIRD STRAIGHT MW SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP

HOUSTON, Texas – For the third consecutive year and the eighth time overall, the San Diego State Aztecs claimed the Mountain West Swimming and Diving Championships title, with 1,478.5 points. Junior Aztec Valentina Lopez Arevalo was voted the Diver of the Meet by the league’s nine head coaches.

AWARDS

Colorado State’s Erin Dawson was tabbed the Swimmer of the Meet, while Lopez Arevalo was voted the Diver of the Meet and UNLV’s Fernanda Mendez Guerra was named the Freshman of the Meet.

Wyoming’s Carly Palmer garnered the 2024 Senior Recognition Award for her dedication to her sport, teammates and community.

RESULTS

In the 1650-yard freestyle, Nevada’s Frederica Kizek earned gold with a time of 16:11.82. Colorado State’s Maya White finished second with a time of 16:17.43 and UNLV’s Ava Olson filled in the top three with a time of 16:28.62. All three times marked NCAA B Standards.

Reigning event champion and record holder Alex Roberts from San Diego State won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:52.92. Coming in second was Colorado State’s Tess Whineray with a time of 1:55.27 and hot on her tail was UNLV’s Dominika Trentkiewicz clocking in at 1:55.83. The top four finishers in the event posted NCAA B Standards.

Meredith Smithbaker from San Diego State earned a gold medal in the 100-yard free with a time of 48.54. She was followed by a pair of freshmen in UNLV’s Mendez Guerra (48.81) and Wyoming’s Tara Joyce (48.99), respectively.

In the 200-yard breaststroke, San Diego State’s Christiana Williams finished first with a time of 2:09.19, while teammate Moa Bergdahl came in second with a time of 2:10.73. Wyoming’s Bryn Busskohl earned bronze with a time of 2:11.41. The trio led a groups of six swimmers who posted NCAA B Standards in the event.

During the 2023 Mountain West Championship, UNLV’s Blanka Bokros set the MW all-time and Championship meet records in the 200-yard butterfly. One year later, the senior did herself .28 seconds better, placing the event record at 1:55.16, nearly three seconds faster than the second-place finishers, Wilma Johansson from San Diego State and Nevada’s Yasmin Perry, 1:57.85. All three posted NCAA B Standards.

San Diego State’s Lopez Arevalo scored 340.7 points in the platform diving event. The next-highest point scorer in the event was Fresno State’s Grace Ally with 321.1 points, and in third place was Nevada’s Melissa Mirafuentes with 310.6. All eight of the Championship finalists earned NCAA A Zone qualifying scores, as did the top four finishers in the consolation final.

San Diego State earned gold in the 400-yard free relay with a time of 3:16.62. UNLV came in second in 3:18.26, and Wyoming landed a bronze finish in 3:19.25.

FINAL TEAM SCORES