LARAMIE, Wyo. – Cowboy Swimming and Diving will travel to Houston, Texas, for the 2018 Western Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championship this week, running Feb. 21-24. Competition will take place in the CRWC Natatorium, on the campus of the University of Houston. Preliminaries will start at 9:30 a.m. MT each day, followed by finals in the evening sessions, beginning at 5 p.m.

Last season, Wyoming narrowly missed out on a conference championship, scoring 754 points for second place behind Air Force with 794.5 points. Grand Canyon placed third with 563 points, followed by UNLV in fourth with 525.5 points. Grand Canyon holds the top time in seven different individual events this season. Mark Nikolaev holds the fastest time in the 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke, while Mazen El Kamash owns the top time in the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 200 breaststroke. UNLV posted the top time in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle and 1650 freestyle.

The Cowboys have proven themselves in head-to-head competition against the top talent in the conference this season. They are 4-1 in duals, with three of those victories coming against the other top three teams in the WAC, knocked off Air Force 165-135 back on Oct. 28, 2017. In the Pokes' double dual against UNLV and Grand Canyon on Jan. 27, UW dominated GCU 193-107 and edged UNLV, 165-146.

Wyoming currently has 14 swimmers than rank in the conference's top 10 lists in at least one event. Eight Cowboys have posted a top-10 time in three or more events. Senior Wade Nelson leads the way with five top-10 times. He currently holds the season record in both the 200 individual medley (1:47.30) and the 400 individual medley (3:48.31).

Senior Eric Oleson has excelled in the distance events, with the seventh-best time in the 500 freestyle, fifth-best time in the 1000 freestyle and fifth-best time in the 1650 freestyle. Oleson also recorded the fifth-fastest time in the 400 individual medley.

There are 10 events where the Pokes have at least three swimmers in the top 10. UW's strongest events may be the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, where three Cowboys rank in the top five. In the 100 breaststroke, junior Liam Holt holds the second-best time (54.65), senior Kyle White is just behind with the third-best time (54.91) and junior David Murphy owns the fifth-fastest time (55.21). In the 200 individual medley, Holt ranks fourth (1:50.23) and senior Ryan Ball ranks fifth (1:50.39), both behind the conference leader Nelson.

Sophomore Scotia Mullin will look make a huge impact for Wyoming again this season, after two conference titles last season on the one-meter and platform. Mullin set the conference record with a score of 423.85 in the final, besting the previous conference record he set in the preliminary round. His performance earned him the honor of WAC Diver of the Year.

Links for live swimming and diving results will be posted on GoWyo.com once they are available. A full schedule, along with ticket information and championship history, are also available at the respective links above.