Laramie, Wyo. (Feb. 17, 2020) – The Cowgirl Swimming and Diving will return to the pool this week to compete at the 2020 Mountain West Championship. The four-day meet is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. MT at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
 
"We are really excited to go to Minneapolis. Now that we know what to expect going out there. Things are a little unique," head swimming coach Dave Denniston said. "This women's team has exceeded my expectations and even their own throughout the season. At this point, we are going there to have fun and I think we are in the position to be in the top three, which is a goal for this team. Overall, our team is ready to race and swim fast every chance they get."
 
The 2020 MW Championship squad will feature six individuals who come from or have ties to the state of Wyoming. Sophomore Sani Carsrud, from Gillette, will compete in the 50, 100, 200 freestyle along with relays. She has season-best times of 23.65, 51.14 and 1:52.33 in each event. Junior Rylie Pilon, who is also from Gillette, will be participating in the 200 IM, 100 and 200 breaststroke. Her top times in the breaststrokes are 1:05.84 and 2:23.70, respectively. Laramie native Maggie Clerkin is competing in three events in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle. She has a top time of 5:16.66 in the 500 and 17:34.39 in the 1650.
 
Sophomore Lainee Jones, who comes from Pueblo, Colo., is the daughter of a Wyoming Alum. She is currently ranked in the Top 15 in the league in three events, 200 and 500 free plus the 100 butterfly. In the 500 freestyle this season, she has a career-best mark of 4:50.07, which is also fourth all-time in school history. Fellow sophomore Molly Green, from Sheridan, will be looking for a solid showing in the 50, 100 free plus the 100 backstroke. Her best time in the backstroke is 2:12.95. From Rock Springs, Avery Otto-Horn is scheduled to participate in the 50 and 100 free along with the 100 butterfly. She has a top time of 24.36 in the 50 free and 53.31 in the 100 free.   
 
"I want Wyoming athletes to have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division I level," Denniston added. "I was a Wyoming kid myself so the fact we recruit as many student-athletes as we can is a big part of our program and culture. Now, we are seeing a significant number being contributing members and going to the conference championships. It's great that 25 percent of the program has connections to the state of Wyoming and we want to see that continue to grow. They have earned it, have the work ethic and I want to see them race at the end of the year."
 
The Cowgirls will be looking to finish in the top three at the conference meet for the first time since 2013. Last year, Wyoming finished sixth with 743.50 points. San Diego State won the title with 1360.5 points followed by Nevada with 1261.5 and Boise State in third with 1159 points. On the year, the Cowgirls did not face SDSU or Nevada in dual action, however the Broncos beat them 186-108 in Laramie in January.
 
Wyoming has six competitors currently ranked in the top ten in the conference in at least one event, among those is Katelyn Blattner. The junior from Wichita, Kan. is second in the 200 and 500 freestyle while sitting in third in the 200 backstroke. She is the current school record holder in the 500 free with a time of 4:46.99, third in the 200 free with a mark of 1:48.18 and sixth in the backstroke with a time of 1:57.56.  Freshman Emily Giles is ranked among the Top 10 in four events, the 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 200 IM. She has the seventh best time in the 200 back and 200 IM with times of 1:57.94 and 2:01.62, respectively.
 
Senior Daniela Luna Rocha is ranked in the Top 10 in two events, the 1000 and 1650 free. She is fourth in the 1000 free with a season-best time of 10:14.23. In the 1650, she also has the top time with a mark of 16:59.97. Freshman Olivia Staver is seventh in the 1000 free with a career-best time of 10:23.32.  
 
Junior Hannah Mclean-Leonard will be another competitor to watch at the MW Championships as she is ranked fourth in the conference in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.89. She is also ranked ninth in the 200 butterfly with a season-best time of 2:02.71. Last year at the conference championships, she finished in the runner-up spot in both events and broke the school record with a time of 52.96 in the 100 butterfly.
 
"Katelyn (Blattner) has had a phenomenal season. She winning races every time she has the opportunity to swim, no matter what race. Lainee (Jones) continues to be a powerhouse. Phoebe Browne has really turned her season in to something special and feel like she can have a great meet. In terms of the freshmen, Emily (Giles) has performed well in the backstroke and IM's."

On the diving side of the competition, the Cowgirls will be led by redshirt junior Karla Contreras and freshman Melissa Mirafuentes.  Contreras returns to the championships after sitting out last season with an injury. She is a two-time All-Conference selection in all three boards. In 2018, she placed second in each even behind Nevada's Sharae Zheng. This year, she has a season-best score of 315.30 in the 1-meter and is second in the 3-meter with a mark of 325.05. Mirafuentes has had an outstanding first season with the Cowgirls. At the Air Force Invite, she swept the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform, while breaking two school records. In the 3-meter, she would score a combined 365.55 to not only win the event but break the school mark. The previous best was held by former Cowgirl Stephanie Ortiz who had the record with a score of 354.05 which was set in 2010. She followed that up with a school record in the platform with a combined total of 296.00 in the preliminaries through five dives. She broke the previous mark held by her current teammate redshirt Contreras of 285.20 which was set in 2017.
 
Sophomore McKenna Houlihan recorded a career-best 270.05 in the finals of the 1-meter at the Air Force Invite. With that number, she qualified for the NCAA Zone E meet. Her top number in the 3-meter is 251.18. Redshirt junior Abigail Zoromski had a season-best mark of 268.05 in the 3-meter and 242.10 in the 1-meter. Freshman Makena Sanger has recorded career-best marks of 202.73 in the 1-meter event and 197.00 in the 3-meter.
 
Follow @wyo_swimdive for updates and live stats.