LARAMIE, Wyo. – Cowgirl Swimming and Diving will travel to San Antonio, Texas, to compete in the 2018 Mountain West Championship this week from Wednesday to Saturday at the Palo Alto College Aquatic Center. Preliminary heats start at 11:30 a.m. MT on Wednesday, and on 10 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Final sessions will begin at 5:30 p.m. each day.

The Wyoming women's team has its sights set on a top-three finish for the first time since 2013. Boise State claimed the conference title last season, its third in the last six seasons. The Nevada Wolfpack became Mountain West champions for the first time in 2016, and San Diego State's three titles round out the last seven years of championship history. That trio have all finished ahead of Wyoming in each of the last four seasons. All three will be tough competition again this season. The Broncos defeated UW in their dual meeting on Jan. 20. The Aztecs are strong in the butterfly and IM events, with the top times in the 200 fly and 400 IM. The Wolfpack will again be strong on the boards, with Sharae Zheng returning after sweeping all three events at the 2017 MW Championships.

The Cowgirls have nine competitors currently ranked in the top 10 in the conference in at least one event. Six Cowgirls have posted top-10 marks this season in three different events. Senior Kelly Sheldon has posted the 10th-fastest time in the 200 freestyle, ninth-fastest time in the 500 freestyle and 10th-fastest time in the 200 backstroke. Senior Maria Harutjunjan ranks second in the 100 breaststroke, seventh in the 200 breaststroke and ninth in the 200 individual medley. Harutjunjan holds the conference record in the 100 breaststroke from last season's championship race, still the only competitor record a sub-minute time.

Juniors Isobel Ryan and Samantha Burke each also have three top-10 times this season. Ryan ranks tied for third in the 50 freestyle, tied for sixth in the 100 freestyle and fourth in the 100 backstroke. Burke holds the eight-fastest time in the 100 backstroke, the seventh-best time in the 200 backstroke and the 10th-fastest time in the 100 butterfly. Junior Marcela Gramcko ranks ninth in the 200 backstroke, rounding out one of UW's strongest events.

Sophomore Talita Te Flan has excelled in the distance events this season, ranking sixth in the 500 freestyle, eighth in the 1000 freestyle, and seventh in the 1650 freestyle. Sophomore Daniela Luna Rocha is also top-10 in the 1000 and 1650 freestyle, ranking eighth and ninth respectively.

Freshman Hannah Mclean-Leonard is the only UW newcomer to post a top-10 mark this season. She ranks fourth in the 100 butterfly and ninth in the 200 butterfly.

Sophomore Karla Contreras returns to the conference championships looking for her first MW title after top-three finishes in all three events last season. Contreras finished second on the one-meter, third on the three-meter and second on the platform. The four-time MW Diver of the Week later went on to be the only diver to represent the conference in all three events at the NCAA Championship.

A link to live coverage through FloSwimming is above, although a subscription fee is required for access. A link for live swimming results will be posted on GoWyo.com once it is available. Live diving results, as well as ticket information and championship history, are also available at the respective links above.