Feb. 27, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla - San Diego State added five more new school records during the third day of competition at the Mountain West Conference Swimming and Diving Championship in Oklahoma City. New Aztecs marks were set in four swimming races and one diving event while a fifth swimming race came up just two-hundredths of a second off a new SDSU mark.
The Aztecs remain in sixth-pace at the end of the third of four days of competition at the meet. A sixth-place finish would match the team's best showing at the MWC title meet, a place they achieved during both the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Friday's finals session began with the 400 individual medley as freshman Elisabeth Krueger turned in a time of 4:26.65, the second-fastest time in school history. Teammate Jessica Morrill recorded the fifth-best time for an Aztec as she went 4:30.82. The current Aztec record of 4:26.63 was set by Erik Kilpatrick during the 2002-03 campaign.
In the 100 butterfly, sophomore Brooke Vessey set a new school record with a time of 56.07 in the prelims, then bettered her own standard by swimming a 55.69 to finish sixth in the finals. It was the fourth school record that Vessey has been involved in this weekend as she was a member of the 200-medley, 800 free and 200 free relay teams that set new SDSU records in Oklahoma City.
The Aztecs also had another pair of times that rank in the all-time SDSU top 10 in the 100 butterfly race as Allison Hall went 56.22 and Shannon Bray swam a 57.76 for the second- and eight-best times respectively.
The next San Diego record to fall came in the 100 breaststroke where freshman Jeanette Engzell set a new standard with a time of 1:02.55 as she finished second in the A-final. Engzell, who had recorded the second-best time in school history earlier this season, bettered the old record by over two seconds. Fellow Aztec Jessica Morrill's time of 1:03.56 in the B-final registered as the second-fastest mark in the Aztec record book in this event.
In the 100 backstroke, three SDSU swimmers finished in times that will go into the Aztec all-time list among the top five fastest. Shaida Solimani set the new school mark in 55.40 with teammate Elena Karpeeva right behind her at 55.41 as the duo finished fifth and sixth respectively in the A-final and are now ranked one-two in the Aztec record book. Senior Alexandra Rogers' time of 56.64 in the prelims for the 100 backstroke goes down as the fifth-best mark ever for an SDSU swimmer.
In the platform diving, junior Alex Barstad captured fourth place with a score of 216.50, another SDSU record. It was her first competitive action in the platform event this season.
The evening's final competition saw the 400 medley relay team of Karpeeva, Engzell, Krueger and Solimani establish another San Diego State record with a time of 3:43.71, a mark which was seven seconds faster that the previous Aztec best. By finishing fourth in the event, the foursome helped SDSU solidify its hold on sixth place in the meet standings.
At the conclusion of Friday's competition, San Diego State finds itself with 257 points. The standings after day two are as follows:
Brigham Young.....457UNLV..............397Wyoming...........395Utah..............366Colorado State....299San Diego State...257TCU...............236New Mexico........174Air Force..........93The championships continue on Saturday (Feb. 28) with prelims beginning at 10:00 a.m. (CST). Saturday's finals include the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the 400 free relay.
For the latest on the MWC Championships click here.