Courtesy of Mike Brohard
HOUSTON – The buildup for the race was extensive.
Swimmers who held five of the top seven times in Mountain West history in the event were behind the blocks, four of whom competed at the 2005 NCAA Championships in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The race delivered the sparks it suggested for the 2026 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, with first-team All-American Mackenzie Lung pacing the decorated field to the wall with a conference-championship record time of 58.17, the first of three successive swimmers to earn automatic qualification to this year’s NCAA championship.
The transfer, who placed seventh in the event at the 2025 NCAA’s for BYU had set the conference record earlier in the season for Fresno State, was one of five competitors in the race to hit the NCAA qualifying standard, with 2025 conference champion Emily Lundgren of Washington State finishing second in 59.42. The Bulldogs’ Aliz Kalmar(59.76) and Jenna Pulkkinen (59.77) finished third and fourth, respectively, with San Diego State’s Moa Bergdahl fifth (59.89).
By the end of the evening, fans at the CRWC Natatorium cheered for things old and new as the third day of competition closed with San Diego State still leading the team race (958.5) after the Aztecs won their first title of the meet in the newest event.
Prior to that, Nevada’s Scarlett Ferris produced on both fronts, winning the 100 backstroke for the third consecutive year, becoming the first person in conference history to do so in the event. She lowered her league-record time (51.07) in doing so, and she needed to as Colorado State’s Tess Whineray pushed her with a 51.78, the second-fastest time in conference history.
It made Ferris the first multi-event champion at the meet, backing her 100 butterfly title from the night prior.
The team diving relay made it’s debut during the evening, with three divers from each team performing two dives each from one of the three boards, the combined efforts having to cover six categories of dives. The Aztecs’ trio of Alina Skrocki, Belen Cano and Isabella Gomez posted a score of 307.35 to top Wyoming by nearly 17 points.
In the first individual event, UNLV’s Rachel Wigginton turned a tight race in her favor with the first 50 of the second half as the freshman pulled away to win the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:57.08.
Washington State started the evening session with it’s third relay title of the championships with the quad of Anna Rouchholz, Lundgren, Addy Lewis and Darcy Revitt winning the 200 medley with a 1:36.40. Wyoming took the 800 freestyle relay to end the night as Raiden Harris, Avery True, Macey Hansen and Tara Joyce won in 7:10.00.
Preliminaries begin at 10:30 a.m. (CT) on Saturday, with the closing day’s finals set for 6 p.m.
Team Rankings Through Friday, Feb. 20
- San Diego State – 5958.5
- UNLV – 831
- Washington State – 733
- Nevada – 699.5
- Fresno State – 644
- Air Force – 571
- Wyoming – 549
- Colorado State – 517.5
- San José State – 460
- Grand Canyon – 369.5
- New Mexico – 217
