WAC Championship Results
HOUSTON, Texas – Cowboy swimming and diving concluded the
final day of the Western Athletic Conference Championships, placing second with
754 points. Wyoming finished behind Air Force with 794.5 points, and ahead of
third-place Grand Canyon University with 563 points.
The final session
began with the 1650 freestyle, where the freshman duo of Seth Borgert and Jacob Harlan placed seventh and ninth, respectively. Borgert's time of 15:29.61 was
his season-best and sixth-fastest in school history. Harlan's time of 15:34.34
was also his best on the year.
The Cowboys then
narrowed the gap with Air Force placing four swimmers in the top eight of the
200 backstroke, each with season-best times. Junior Ryan Ball led the way with
an NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:44.35 to place second. Junior Slade Sheaffer took
fifth with a time of 1:47.17. Senior Patrick Jones finished just behind Sheaffer in sixth with a mark of 1:48.15.
Freshman Sean Calkins claimed the eighth spot with a time of 1:49.80. Wyoming
trailed Air Force by just 23 points after the event.
Senior Gabe Rooker swam
his fastest race of the season in the 200 breaststroke at 1:56.35 to become the
WAC champion. His time was the third-fastest in Wyoming history and two-tenths
of a second from the WAC record. Sophomore Loren Sether placed eighth with a time
of 1:59.66, over six seconds faster than his best time prior to the WAC
Championships.
Three Cowboys placed
in the top eight of the 200 butterfly, led by sophomore Jack Herron who placed
second with a time of 1:45.64. Junior Jacob Porter clocked a time of 1:46.21 to
grab the third spot, and junior Wade Nelson took fifth with a mark of 1:47.32.
Freshman Scotia Mullin made history in the platform event, shattering the WAC record by nearly
90 points. In the preliminary, Mullin earned the top spot with a score of
394.75, topping the previous WAC record of 344.80. Mullin wasn't satisfied, and
came back in the final with one of the best performances in Wyoming history.
The freshman diver scored a 423.85, improving on his own WAC record with the
second-highest platform score ever by a Cowboy. Redshirt-sophomore Ryan Russi
tabbed the fifth spot with a score of 281.90, while senior Jacob Rehmeier
placed sixth with a score of 266.25. Both were season-best marks.
Wyoming closed out the weekend in
the 400 freestyle relay, placing fourth with a time of 2:56.14. The team of
junior Kyle White, Rooker, sophomore Liam Metzsch and sophomore David Murphy swam the second-fastest race in school history, securing second place for the
Cowboys.
