Feb. 20, 2016
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The San Diego State swimming and diving team completed competition at the 2016 Mountain West Championships on Saturday with a third-place overall team finish at the 10-team league title meet.
Nevada overtook Boise State on the final day to win the conference championship with 664 points. Boise State was just 13 points behind, capturing second place with 652 points. SDSU's 511 points was enough to claim third place while fourth went to Wyoming with 457 points.
Just as they did on Friday, the Aztecs claimed a pair of silver medal with second-place finishes in a pair of individual swimming events.
In the 100 freestyle it was senior Whitney Weisz taking the runner-up spot with a time of 49.14. Teammate Savannah Miller won the B final (ninth overall) in 49.91, and both she and Weisz's times were NCAA B cuts. Taylor Johnson was third in the B final with a time of 50:16.
All three swimmers turned in marks that go into the SDSU record book among the top 10 all-time. Weisz's time ranks third, Miller's was seventh and Johnson was eighth-fastest in program history.
San Diego State's other second-place came in the 200 butterfly where freshman Rachael Kelch went 1:59.41, an NCAA B cut and third-best time ever for an Aztec swimmer. Samantha Guttmacher finished fourth in the B final (2:37.75) while Summer Harrison was eighth (2:09.96).
The Aztecs sent a pair of swimmers to the championship final of the 200 backstroke where Ruiz finished sixth in 1:57.75 and Kelch took seventh in 1:57.82.
In the 1650 freestyle, SDSU freshman Francesca Arredondo was first I the B final with a mark of 16:56.73, the eighth-fastest time in school history. Fellow Aztec Corinn Casper was seventh in the B final in 17:10.81.
On the diving side. Alexandra Caplan was the Aztecs' top finisher, capturing fifth place with a score of 235.05. Her mark of 246.50 in the prelims goes into the Aztec record book as third-best ever. Payton Gabris (237.75) and Nicole Dutton (220.25) turned in person-best scores which also rank fifth and seventh at SDSU.
In the meet's final event, the foursome of Weisz, Miller, Johnson and Guttmacher went 3L20.30 to finish in fourth place with a time that ranks eighth in the Aztec record book.
The Aztecs will now await a determination of which swimmers will qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held March 16-19 at the Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, Ga.
Prior to the NCAA Championships, the Aztec divers will participate in the Zone E Regional March 7-9 at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Arizona as individuals look to qualify for the national title meet. The Mountain West all-conference team is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS Team Pts. 1. Nevada............664 2. Boise State.......651 3. San Diego State...511 4. Wyoming...........457 5. UNLV..............373 6. San Jose State....258 7. New Mexico..... ..248 8. Colorado State....232 9. Air Force.........20710. Fresno State......182