LARAMIE, Wyo. – Wyoming swimming and diving men's and
women's squads each defeated Colorado School of Mines on Saturday afternoon at
Corbett Pool. The Cowboys claimed victory over the Orediggers by a score of
128-69. The Cowgirls earned a win over Mines, 128-72.
Pool records in the
100 breaststroke on both sides highlighted the afternoon. First, junior Maria Harutjunjan set the women's record with a time of 1:03.74, nearly three seconds
faster than the rest of the field. Following her lead, senior Gabe Rooker broke
the men's record, clocking in at 54.51. Earlier in the meet, Rooker also placed
first in the 50 freestyle with a season-best time of 20.73, the second-fastest
time for any Cowboy this season.
"There was some good
today, there was some bad today and there was some ugly today," UW head coach
Tom Johnson said. "The good – Maria broke a pool record, she was out really
well and I liked the way she finished. I thought it was a really good swim and
in a couple weeks, she'll be even faster. Gabe's 100 breaststroke was super
impressive, to break the record at this point in the season coming off what we
did this week. And his 50 freestyle was equally impressive. That was faster
than what he swam at Missouri. The rest of today went okay, we did what we had
to do to win and we need to get significantly better in seven days."
Wyoming recorded the
fastest time in 21 of the dual's 22 events. Seniors Danielle Badger and Kelly Sheldon each capped off their final competition in Corbett with first-place
finishes. Badger earned victory in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.24.
Sheldon outpaced the field in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 5:10.29. She was
also part of the Cowgirls' 400 freestyle relay team that placed first with a
time of 3:39.57. Badger and fellow senior Emily Stevens also swam the first and
final legs in Wyoming's first-place 200 medley relay team, which finished in
1:46.52.
The graduating class of Cowboys
consists of Patrick Jones, Jacob Rehmeier, Rooker and Dylan Sether. For the
Cowgirls, the senior class includes Badger, Keely Bishop, Casey Duckworth, Lauren Puglisi, Stevens, Abby Sullivan, Mary Uselmann and Marissa Verdi.
Wyoming swimming and diving will
be back in action with a double-dual against Denver and Minnesota next weekend.
Competition is set to begin at 4 p.m. MT on Friday, Jan. 13 in Denver, Colo.
