LARAMIE, Wyo. (11/5/21) – University of Wyoming swimming & diving head coach Dave Denniston emphasized to his women's team prior to Friday's meet against Colorado State and Colorado Mesa the importance of aggressiveness. He wanted his student-athletes to push hard during the early stages of races.

The Cowgirls put that into action at Laramie High School. It resulted in a 229-70 win over the Mavericks and a narrow 152-148 loss to the Rams.

"They came out fired up," Denniston said. "They brought a lot of energy, cheering the whole way through, and they fought with everything they had. We didn't have any swim that I was disappointed in. They all worked really hard out there."

That energy was also seen in Wyoming's men's team. The Cowboys defeated Colorado Mesa 183-117.

"It says a lot when the coach from Mesa says, 'I love the grittiness of your guys,'" Denniston said. "It means a lot to hear that. I'm really proud of this men's team."

The men's team improves to 1-3 on the season. The women's team moves to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West Conference action.

The Cowboys won 12 of the 16 men's events Friday. That included sweeping the top-three places in three different events.

The 200-yard butterfly stood as the first such event in which Wyoming dominated. Senior Thomas Diaz won with a time of 1:53.34, while sophomores Andrew Columbus and Luke Walker rounded out the top three after logging times of 1:55.39 and 1:56.33, respectively.

That kickstarted Diaz's strong day. He won the 200-yard breaststroke, boasting a time of 2:11.83 and topped the field in the 200-yard individual medley, recording a time of 1:56.10.

Senior Grant Sloan led the pack in the 50-yard freestyle. He touched first, clocking in at 20.80, while freshman Matt Lang and sophomore Max DeYoung took second and third with times of 21.01 and 21.02, respectively.

Those aforementioned three and freshman Gavin Smith teamed up to claim first in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing in 1:30.97. Sloan also won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.07, while Smith was victorious in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.42.

Senior Ryan Netzel also enjoyed a multi-win day. He placed first in the 200-yard freestyle after swimming a time of 1:42.32 and touched first in the 500-yard freestyle, boasting a time of 4:46.58.

Sophomore diver Juan Gonzalez represented the final two-win Cowboy. He won both the 1- and 3-meter competitions with scores of 301.45 and 323.90, respectively.

The 1-meter event was the third and final event where Wyoming swept the top three. Senior Brendan Byrnes and junior Payton Lee finished second and third, scoring 281.45 and 274.15 points, respectively.

Junior Daniel Cumnock-Francois rounded out the victorious Cowboys. He touched first in the 1,000-yard freestyle, clocking in at 9:57.68.

A quartet of Cowgirls claimed individual wins Friday. Fifth-year senior Katelyn Blattner led the way with a pair of victories, winning the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.73 and the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:04.14.

Senior Lainee Jones placed first in the 200-yard freestyle after registering a time of 1:52.69. Freshman Rachel Horne won the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 1:04.21, and junior Melissa Mirafuentes topped the field in the 3-meter event after accumulating 321.90 points.

Blattner, Jones, freshman Lauren Swartz and senior Kira Crane teamed up to win the 200-yard medley relay, touching in a time of 1:43.88. The combo of Blattner and Jones teamed up with sophomore Kali Franckowiak and senior Sani Carsrud to win the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:28.48.

"I think there's a lot of good energy with this women's team," Denniston said. "I'm excited for them to get some rest and see what they can do moving forward because I think this is going to fire them up for the rest of the season."

Wyoming is back in action at the Missouri Invitational from Nov. 17-19 before wrapping up the fall portion of the schedule at the Corbett Invite on Nov. 20-21.