Feb. 23, 2014
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - San Diego State garnered four individual awards after placing second at the 2014 Mountain West Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in San Antonio, Texas. The Aztecs finished with a team total of 633.5 points behind champion Boise State (735 points) and ahead of third-place Nevada (507).
SDSU's Anika Apostalon was named the Mountain West Swimmer of the Year as well as the conference's Freshman of the Year. During the title meet she set conference records in the 50 and 100 freestyle as well as the 100 backstroke with NCAA A Cut times in all three events.
In addition, Apostalon was a member of four winning relay teams, three of which set new Mountain West records and achieved A Cut times as well. She becomes the fourth Aztec in the last five seasons to be named the MW Swimmer of the Year.
SDSU's Mikaela Macklin was also honored with the Senior Recognition Award. The award is presented to the league's top senior who has exemplified the high standards of the Mountain West and its member institutions during their college career.
In addition to Apostalon, San Diego State's Mike Shrader was honored as the Mountain West Coach of the Year. It marks the fifth time in his seven seasons heading up the Aztec program that he has received the award.
Saturday night's finals session began with Caroline Mitchell taking seventh place in the final of the 1650 freestyle. Her time of 16:41.48 was a personal best and ranks fourth on the SDSU all-time record list for the event.
The Aztecs' first win of the night came in the 200 backstroke where Natilee Ruiz went 1:55.43, a mark that ranks second on the all-time SDSU top ten list.
Next up was the 100 freestyle when Apostalon set the Mountain West record with a time of 47.73. She actually broke the record she had set in the prelims when she went 47.81. Whitney Weisz's fifth-place time of 49.53 enters the SDSU record book as the second-fastest time in program history. Chelsea Bailey's mark of 49.96 in the consolation final places her third on that list.
Mikaela Macklin then took second in the 200 breaststroke in a school-record time of 2:11.23, breaking the old mark that had stood since 2010 by .03 second. Junior Laura Day, who won the 100 breast on Friday, captured seventh place in the 200 breast in 2:14.82, the fourth-fastest time ever by an Aztec swimmer.
SDSU's top finisher in the platform diving event was freshman Marlee Kersting, whose score of 190.08 placed her 14th overall and was the seventh-best ever performance by an SDSU diver.
San Diego State capped off the four-day championships by winning the 400 free relay as it completed as sweep of all five of the meet's relay races. The foursome of Apostalon, Bailey, Ruiz and Weisz went 3:16.60 to establish a new Mountain West record with an NCAA A Cut time.
The Aztecs will now await a determination of which swimmers will qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held March 20-22 at the University of Minnesota. Apostalon's NCAA Cut times in the 50 and 100free and the 100 backstroke automatically qualify her for the national meet. SDSU's five relays also all turned in A Cut times during the Mountain West Championships.
The Mountain West all-conference team is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
FINAL TEAM SCORES 1. Boise State.......735 2. San Diego State...633.5 3. Nevada............507 4. Wyoming...........455 5. New Mexico........303 6. Air Force.........292 7. UNLV..............282.5 8. San Jose State....270 9. Fresno State......17710. Colorado State....165