HOUSTON – The San Diego State swim and dive program took another significant leap in its quest for another league title on Friday after capturing four more gold medals at the Mountain West Championships inside the CRWC Natatorium on the University of Houston campus.
The Aztecs find themselves firmly in control of the team standings with 1,119 points after the third day of competition, extending their lead to 406.5 points over second-place UNLV (712.5 pts), while Nevada (655 pts), Wyoming (626 pts) and Fresno State (586 pts) round out the top five.
With just one day remaining in the meet, SDSU is in prime position to claim its second straight conference crown and fourth in the last five seasons.
In the first race of Friday's finals, the Aztecs emerged triumphant in the 200 freestyle relay, as the foursome of Lynsdey Wehr, Lizzie Menzmer, Meredith Smithbaker and Jeannette King combined for an NCAA "B" Cut time of 1:29.19, which ranks fifth in program history.
After capturing the first seven swimming events of the week, SDSU had its victory streak snapped in the 400 individual medley where Kristina Murphy placed second in a close finish by just .58 seconds to Nevada's Benedict Nagy after touching the wall at 4:11.87. Earlier in the day, the Aztec senior improved her NCAA "B" Cut standing with a career-best swim of 4.11.49 in the preliminaries to vault into second on the school's all-time charts.
San Diego State registered three additional NCAA "B" Cut times in the 100 butterfly where Alex Roberts finished third with a career-fast time of 53.29, which ranks fifth in school history, while Emily Gebhardt (53.51) and Menzmer (53.62) followed in succession with collegiate bests of their own. In addition, Riley Tapley swam a season-fast 55.04 en route to a sixth-place standing in the "B" finals and 14th overall.
The Aztecs regained the proverbial Midas Touch in the 200 freestyle where Wilma Johansson prevailed in another exciting race over UNLV's Erika Carlson. The SDSU junior posted a career-fast time of 1:47.26, edging her Rebel adversary by .35 seconds and subsequently climbed into a tie for sixth in program history.
Additionally, Avery Turney turned in a fourth-place performance in the championship finals with a season-best clocking of 1:49.46, while Paige Mitchell swam a season-fast 1:51.51 to finish sixth in the bonus finals.
The depth of the Aztecs' roster was once again on full display after the Scarlet and Black swept the podium in the 100 breaststroke with NCAA "B" Cut times. Christiana Williams led the charge with a gold-medal effort of 1:00.23, vaulting into fourth place on SDSU's all-time list, while Moa Bergdahl (1:00.79) and Meredith Smithbaker (1:00.81) touched the wall in near simultaneous fashion with season-best marks. In addition, Bergdal moved into seventh place in school history.
The championship final of the 100 backstroke also proved to be top-heavy with Aztec swimmers, with the Scarlet and Black capturing two medals and setting NCAA "B" Cut standards. Roberts reached for the gold and came through with a career-fast time of 52.55, which strengthen her grip on second place in program history, while Tapley was third with a collegiate-fast swim of her own at 53.71, which also moved her into fifth on the school's all-time charts. Additionally, Mai McKenna followed in sixth with a 54.52 clocking, while King took eighth at 55.41.
SDSU's Evonne Stehr also won the "B" final of the 100 backstroke after touching the wall with a season-best 54.36 to finish ninth in the event overall.
The Mountain West Championships conclude on Saturday with the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay and the platform diving final. Preliminaries are scheduled to get underway at 10:30 a.m. CT/8:30 a.m. PT, with finals expected to begin 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
1. San Diego State (1,119 pts)
2. UNLV (712.5 pts)
3. Nevada (655 pts)
4. Wyoming (626 pts)
5. Fresno State (586 pts)
6. Air Force (549.5 pts)
7. Colorado State (518 pts)
8. San José State (431 pts)
9. New Mexico (217 pts)
Aztecs Bolster Lead at MW Championships
