Mountain West Champions--Again!
The San Diego State swim and dive program made history on Saturday by winning its fourth consecutive conference title and sixth in the last seven years after logging a series of inspired performances at the 2025 Mountain West Championships in Houston, Texas.
HOUSTON – The San Diego State swim and dive program made history on Saturday by winning its fourth consecutive conference title and sixth in the last seven years after logging a series of inspired performances at the 2025 Mountain West Championships inside the CRWC Natatorium on the University of Houston campus.
The Aztecs collected three gold medals on the final day of competition, finishing with 1,283 points to hold off second-place UNLV (1,178) by 105 points, while Fresno State (1,022) was slotted third, followed by Nevada (998) and Washington State (975).
With another successful title defense, head coach Mike Shrader’s program has collected nine MW team trophies since the 2010-11 campaign. In addition, San Diego State became the just the second school in MW history to win four straight conference championships after former member Brigham Young accomplished the feat from 2007-10.
SDSU displayed its tremendous depth throughout the week, capturing five gold, seven silver and two bronze medals, while logging 13 additional finishes in the championship finals.
Individually, Valentina Lopez Arevalo garnered Mountain West Diver of the Meet accolades for the second year in a row, marking the fourth time an Aztec competitor has merited such acclaim after Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez twice received the distinction in 2019 and 2022.
Not to be outdone, Alex Roberts was presented with the league’s Senior Recognition Award for her dedication to sport, team and community. With The conference bestowed such honor to an SDSU student-athlete for the second time in its history after Mikaela Macklin was presented with the award in 2014.
Fittingly, the Aztecs’ 400 freestyle relay team of Alli Mann, Kaydence Bispo, Wilma Johansson and Meredith Smithbaker stole the spotlight in the final event of the meet, setting a school record with a victorious time of 3:15.68, which ranks second in conference history.
In addition, Abby Storm emerged triumphant in the 200 backstroke after posting a career-fast swim of 1:54.03, which is slotted second on the school’s all-time charts behind Roberts, who set the program standard of 1:52.76 at the NCAA Championships last year.
Roberts, meanwhile, placed second behind Storm in the event on Saturday after touching the wall at 1:55.38, while Reka Nyiradi (2:00.50) took eighth.
Both Storm and Roberts’ efforts eclipsed the NCAA “B” cut threshold.
Not to be outdone, Lopez Arevalo took center stage in platform diving competition, logging a season-best score of 325.95 to capture the event title for the third consecutive year.
On her fourth dive of the day, the 205B, Lopez Arevalo received a score of 10.0 from five of the seven judges.
Making her first appearance in the conference platform finals, Alina Skrocki placed sixth with a total of 238.65 points to surpass an NCAA zone qualifying standard along with her SDSU teammate.
The Aztecs advanced three swimmers to the championship finals of the 100 freestyle, where Smithbaker finished second with another NCAA “B” cut time of 48.89, while Johansson (49.35) edged Mann (49.65) for sixth place.
Similarly, Moa Bergdahl eclipsed the NCAA “B” cut threshold in the 200 breaststroke, where she completed the race with a career-fast swim of 2:10.44, which ranks fourth in school history, while Christiana Williams took seventh at 2:14.47.
Charlotte Sevin was the Aztecs’ top finisher in the 200 butterfly, where she touched the wall in sixth with a collegiate-best clocking of 2:00.19, which ranks 10th on the program’s all-time list.
In consolation action, Bispo won the “B” finals of the 100 freestyle with a swim of 49.55, while Grace Mering was second in the 200 backstroke “B” finals with a clocking of 1:57.72, as both results marked season bests for the respective competitors.
San Diego State divers will begin preparations for the NCAA Zone E Championships, set for March 10-12, in Federal Way, Washington.
2025 Mountain West Championships
Houston, Texas
Final Team Standings
- San Diego State (1,283 pts)
- UNLV (1,178 pts)
- Fresno State (1,178 pts)
- Nevada (998 pts)
- Washington State (975 pts)
- Wyoming (856 pts)
- Colorado State (697 pts)
- Air Force (546 pts)
- New Mexico (392 pts)
- San José State (285 pts)