HOUSTON – Bolstered by four event titles on Thursday, the San Diego State swim and dive program extended its lead in the team standings at the Mountain West Championships held inside CRWC Natatorium on the University of Houston campus.
After the second day of competition, the Aztecs have compiled 663 points, easily outdistancing second-place UNLV (436 pts), while Nevada (432 pts) slipped into third, followed by while Wyoming (369 pts). With two days remaining, SDSU is seeking its second straight conference championship and fourth in the last five years.
The Aztecs earned their first victory of the day in dramatic fashion, as Wilma Johansson took home the crown in the 500 freestyle with an NCAA "B" cut time of 4:46.13, which marks a career best and ranks fourth on the school's all-time charts. Johansson edged Wyoming's Maisyn Klimczak (4:46.18) at the wall after taking a slight lead over her Cowgirl adversary during the final 150 yards.
SDSU also received a seventh-place performance from Emily Gebhardt, who completed the race at 4:57.14, while Paige Mitchell finished second in the "B" finals and 10th overall after clocking in at 4:52.07.
The Aztecs continued to pile on the points in the finals of the 200 individual medley where Kristina Murphy posted the second-fastest time on the program's career list after touching the wall at 1:57.69, which ranks fourth in MW history, while Moa Bergdahl (2:02.99) and Evonne Stehr (2:03.14) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. With her result, Murphy also logged an NCAA "B" time of her own.
Additionally, Mai McKenna placed fourth in the "B" finals and 12th overall with a clocking of 2:01.54 after winning her preliminary heat earlier in the day with a swim of 2:02.01.
However, nowhere else was SDSU's depth more on display than in the finals of the 50 freestyle, as the Scarlet and Black swept the top four spots with NCAA "B" cut times. Meredith Smithbaker eclipsed her career best established in the preliminaries with a winning effort of 22.47, edging Lizzie Menzmer (22.53), Jeannette King (22.63) and Lyndsey Weher (22.65), all of whom followed in succession with season-fast performances. Rounding out the Aztec contingent in the race was Avery Turney, who finished eighth with a season-best clocking of her own at 23.00.
Not to be outdone, SDSU also emerged triumphant in the 400 medley relay, as the quartet of Alex Roberts, Smithbaker, Menzmer and King joined forces to post a winning time of 3:35.20, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time charts and fifth in conference history.
In the 3-meter springboard event, Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez was the lone Aztec diver to advance to the finals, where she finished third with a season-high 338.95 points, surpassing the NCAA Zone qualifying standard in the process.
Previously in the consolation finals, Summer Westmoreland landed in the fifth spot and 13th overall with a score of 266.65 points, while Taylor Konopacke placed seventh in the round and 15th overall with a total of 241.00 points.
The Mountain West Championships continue on Friday with the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and 200 freestyle, along with the 200 freestyle relay. Preliminaries are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT/8:30 a.m. PT, with finals expected to start at 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT. Links to streaming video and live results can be found on GoAztecs.com.
2023 Mountain West Championships
Houston, Texas
Team Standings after eight events
1. San Diego State (663 pts)
2. UNLV (436 pts)
3. Nevada (432 pts)
4. Wyoming (369 pts)
5. Fresno State (329 pts)
6. Air Force (281 pts)
7. Colorado State (275 pts)
8. San José State (251 pts)
9. New Mexico (136 pts)
Aztecs Increase Lead at MW Championships
