HOUSTON – The San Diego State swim and dive program maintained its lofty perch atop the team standings at the Mountain West Championships after capturing two more gold medals on Friday inside the CRWC Natatorium on the University of Houston campus.
The Aztecs also collected a pair of silver medals and one bronze during the third day of action, compiling 944 points for the meet to open a 62.5-point lead over second-place UNLV (881.5 pts), while Colorado State (626 pts) finds itself a distant third, followed by Fresno State (572.5 pts) and Nevada (567 pts.),
With the results, SDSU inches closer to its third straight conference title and fifth in the last six years.
In the first race of Friday's finals, the Aztecs emerged victorious in the 200 freestyle relay, as the combo of Meredith Smithbaker, Rachel Hubka, Avery Turney and Alyssa Schiller combined for winning time of 1:29.80, which ranks eighth in program history.
San Diego State advanced two competitors to the finals of the 100 butterfly where Alex Roberts finished second with an NCAA "B" Cut time of 52.96 to set a collegiate-best and climb into the fourth spot on the school's all-time charts. In addition, Mai McKenna placed eighth in the race after touching the wall at 54.65.
The Aztecs collected six team points in the "C" finals of the 400 individual medley, where Summer West took third with a season-fast 4:26.55, finishing 19th in the event overall.
SDSU received a pair of season-best performances in the 200 freestyle "A" finals, as Reka Nyiradi touched the wall at 1:47.76, edging teammate Wilma Johansson (1:47.79) for fifth place.
Moments earlier, Turney completed a career-fast swim of 1:49.43 to finish fourth in the "B" finals and 12th overall.
The Aztecs boasted three individuals in the 100 breaststroke finals, led by Moa Bergdahl, who collected a gold medal after logging a career-best time of 59.97, which ranks fifth in school history. Like her SDSU teammate, Christiana Williams also surpassed an NCAA "B" Cut standard after completing the race in third at 1:00.20, while Smithbaker placed seventh at 1:01.64.
Closing out the day's events was Roberts, who missed a program record by just .03 seconds after finishing second in the 100 backstroke with a career-fast time of 51.95, trailing the new conference standard-bearer in Nevada's Scarlett Ferris, who touched the wall at 51.49.
The Aztecs featured three additional competitors in the finals of that event, including Abby Storm, who recorded a career-best swim of 53.90 to finish fifth and surpass an NCAA "B" Cut time. In addition, the SDSU sophomore climbed into fifth place on the school's all-time list.
Meanwhile, teammates Evonne Stehr (54.06) and Riley Tapley (54.86) followed Storm in sixth and seventh, respectively. Stehr's effort marked a season best as well.
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.
2024 Mountain West Championships
Houston, Texas
Team standings after 14 events (Day Three)
1. San Diego State (944 pts)
2. UNLV (881.50 pts)
3. Colorado State (626 pts)
4. Nevada (567 pts)
5. Fresno State (313.50 pts)
6. Air Force (517 pts)
7. Wyoming (498 pts)
8. San José State (406 pts)
9. New Mexico (299 pts)
Aztecs Maintain Top Spot at Mountain West Championships
