COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Sparked by three wins in five events on day two of the 2022 Mountain West Championship, the San Diego State swimming and diving team turned an eight-point deficit starting the day into an 82-point lead by the time the last event had been contested at the Texas A&M Natatorium.
San Diego State started Thursday's session trailing Nevada, 236-to-228, but by the end of the day the Aztecs had outscored the Wolf Pack by 90 points and had a 643-to-561 lead. SDSU got individual event wins in the 200 IM, 50 Freestyle and the 3-meter springboards competitions and had top-five marks in the 500 Freestyle and 400 Medley Relay.
In the final of the 500 Free, Emily Gebhardt had the Aztecs best time and her career-best with a 4:53.30 which slotted her into fifth place. Paige Mitchell swam a 4:55.72, which placed her in eighth. Also competing in the event was Ryan Dulaney who recorded a 4:56.91, the best time of her career, but she did not swim in the final.
In the 200 IM, SDSU placed three of its four competitors, Kristina Murphy, Evonne Stehr and Wilma Johansson, in the top-10 in the prelims. Murphy had the top time in the prelims with a 2:00.26.
In the final, Murphy was in third heading into the breaststroke but erased the deficit in just under 25 yards and pulled away to win the championship in 1:59.11, improving on her career best of 1:59.16 in the victory. Stehr, who swam a career-best 2:01.86 in the prelims, could not match that time in the final and finished in seventh place in 2:03.15
Johansson competed in the B-Final and found herself in sixth place with 50 yards to go but stormed back to finish third in the race and 11th overall with a 2:03.14. Mai McKenna did not compete in the final but swam a 2:09.84 in the prelims.
In the 50 Free, San Diego State placed four swimmers in the final with Lizzie Menzmer taking the championship in a time of 22:38. It was a season best for her and just 0.04 off her collegiate best. Klara Thormalm finished in third place touching the wall in 22.49, her best time of the season. Sammy Geyer was fifth (22.69) and Mia Ryan seventh in (22.91), and each was her fastest time of the season.
In the B-Final, Meredith Smithbaker was the race winner in a career-best 22.70 and finished in ninth place overall. In 14th place, sixth in the B-Final, was Cassie Phillips with a 23.36.
Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez took control of the 3-meter springboard final on her fourth dive and held off Wyoming's Melissa Mirafuentes to win the championship with a score of 375.45, 2.25 points ahead of Mirafuentes.
In the consolation final for the 3-meter springboard, Valentina Lopez Arevalo was the winner with a 346.80. Jules Harrison, Lexi Letts and Emma Duggan also qualified and finished in fourth, fifth and eighth places with scores of 301.05, 278.90 and 232.90, respectively. In the prelims, Gina Cazares totaled a 269.75, Summer Westmoreland scored a 253.60 and Gillian Garcia posted a 227.80.
The final event of the session was the 400 Medley Relay. The Aztec team of Riley Tapley, Klara Thormalm, Cassie Phillips and Sammy Geyer finished in second place in 3:36.06. The time was the seventh fastest in the event in Mountain West Championships history.
The Championships continue on Friday with the 400 IM, 100 Butterfly, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke and 100 Backstroke. The prelims are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. CT with the finals set to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the action through links to live results and streaming video at goaztecs.com.
2022 Mountain West Championships
College Station, Texas
Team standings after eight events
1. San Diego State (643 points)
2. Nevada (561 points)
3. UNLV (428 points)
4. Wyoming (387 points)
5. Colorado State (277 points)
6. Fresno State (262 points)
7. Air Force (239 points)
8. San Jose State (207 points)
9. New Mexico (168 points)
-SDSU-
Aztecs Lead MW Championships After Day Two
