MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – San Diego State's swimming and diving team continued its dominance at the 2020 Mountain West Conference Championships Friday, growing their lead to 328.5 points on the penultimate day of competition.
In her final conference championships, senior Courtney Vincent stole the show on the third day of the title chase with a school-record breaking 100 butterfly preliminary heat swim of 51.60. The morning swim also moved Vincent into the Mountain West record books, improving her grasp on the second-best performance in conference history. She earned a conference title in the finals with a time of 52.14, while sophomore Lizzie Menzmer finished fifth with a time of 54.04.
The Aztecs opened Friday with two stellar performances in the 400 individual medley preliminary heats. Senior McKenna Meyer and sophomore Kristina Murphy finished first and second to move onto the evening session's final heats with NCAA 'B' cut marks of 4:13.79 and 4:14.20, respectively. In the finals, Meyer successfully defended her title and improved her 'B' cut effort, touching the wall in 4:13.38. Murphy also earned a spot on the podium, earning a bronze finish with a time of 4:16.39. Meyer's 400 IM title marks the third time in her collegiate career she has held the conference's best performance in the event.
Sophomore Mia Ryan earned the 200 freestyle qualifying heat's second-fastest effort as she touched the wall in 1:48.35. Freshman Milena Karpisz also made the 'A' finals with a time of 1:49.93, the eighth-best time of the morning swims. The finals saw Ryan place fourth with a time of 1:48.63 while the freshman Karpisz placed seventh with a swim of 1:49.97.
SDSU made a statement in the 100 breaststroke, securing four of the championship heat's eight spots with NCAA 'B' cut swims from swimmers donning the Scarlet and Black. Junior Sammy Geyer led the way with a career-best swim of 59.56, the third-fastest performance in program history, followed by junior Klara Thormalm with a time of 59.60, Morganne McKennan at 1:00.79, and Larissa Tam with a 1:01.72 effort. The Aztecs did not disappoint in the finals, sweeping the podium with most improving on their NCAA 'B' cut marks. Klara Thormalm took home the individual title with a time of 59.36, a Mountain West Championship meet record, McKennan placed second with a time of 59.73, and Geyer grabbed third with a time of 59.78. Tam placed seventh with a time of 1:01.96.
Junior Elli Ferrin and senior Alma Thormalm captured spots in the 100 backstroke 'A' final, finishing second and third in the preliminary heats. Ferrin touched the wall in 53.87 while A. Thormalm registered a performance of 54.10. Evonne Stehr and Riley Tapley both earned spots in the 'B' final, where the duo tied for third place, tapping in with a time of 55.00. The 'A' final saw Ferrin take second with a time of 53.54, an NCAA B cut effort, while Alma Thormalm finished fourth with a time of 54.08.
The Aztecs earned their fourth consecutive relay title Friday night, as the quartet of Lizzie Menzmer, K. Thormalm, A. Thormalm, and S. Geyer touched the wall in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:28.67. The performance, just .02 seconds off the school record and an NCAA 'B' cut, now sits as the second-best swim in program history. The swim also acts as the third-fastest time in conference history.
The final day of competition kicks off tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT with the 200 backstroke preliminary heats. Live results can be found here, while a live stream hosted by FloSwimming is available here.
Team Standings (after Day 3)
1. San Diego State (1058 points)
2. Nevada (729.5 points)
3. UNLV (617.5 points)
4. Wyoming (597 points)
5. Fresno State (534 points)
6. Colorado State (533.5 points)
7. Boise State (511.5 points)
8. New Mexico (393 points)
9. San Jose State (356 points)
10. Air Force (242 points)
SDSU Conquers Day 3 of MW Champs
