COLLEGE STATION, Texas (2/19/22) – Each of the last two nights featured a three-peat for the University of Wyoming swimming & diving team at the Mountain West Conference championships. Junior Melissa Mirafuentes made it three nights in a row for the Cowgirls on Saturday at Paup Pavilion.

Mirafuentes dominated in platform. She tallied a final score of 328.20 to win her third consecutive MWC title. 

"I've never been less nervous during a competition, which never happens," diving head coach Ted Everett said. "But after her first dive, I knew it was over for the rest of the competition. I couldn't be more proud of this performance."

That performance helped Wyoming finish fourth as a team with 888.5 points. San Diego State won the title, compiling 1,541.5 points, while Nevada and UNLV rounded out the top three with 1,277.5 and 1,249 points, respectively.  

"This was a really perfect end to the meet for us," head coach Dave Denniston said. "The Cowgirls did a great job all week."

Senior Katelyn Blattner highlighted the effort in the pool. She was honored as the MWC Swimmer of the Meet after capping her individual performances with a third-place showing in the 200-yard backstroke, logging a time of 1:55.92.

"Katelyn earning Swimmer of the Meet was the highlight for our program," Denniston said.

Freshman Kayla Cunningham wasn't far behind, touching sixth in a time of 2:00.20. Junior Emily Giles won the B final of the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.72, and freshman Sydney Metzler took eighth in the C final, clocking in at 2:06.36.

Freshman Maisyn Klimczak led off Saturday night with a third-place finish of her own. She swam a 16:37.14 in the 1,650-yard freestyle to take third, while fellow freshman Sage Morton finished seventh with a time of 16:51.61.

Seniors Lainee Jones and Sani Carsrud placed second and third, respectively, in the C final of the 100-yard freestyle. Jones swam a time of 51.06, and Carsrud registered a time of 51.29.

Cowgirls were littered all over the C final of the 200-yard breaststroke. Freshman Caitlyn Groff led the way with a third-place showing after swimming a time of 2:19.77, while sophomore Isabel Rich and senior Andrea Niemann took fourth and sixth, respectively, with times of 2:19.84 and 2:23.18.

Sophomore Kali Franckowiak placed sixth in the C final of the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:04.90. Cunningham wasn't far behind in seventh after clocking in at 2:05.24.

The 400-yard freestyle relay team capped the night with a fourth-place finish. The collection of sophomore Carly Palmer, Blattner, Carsrud and Jones boasted a time of 3:21.74.

The NCAA Zone E Diving Championships represents the next competition for Wyoming. It begins March 9 in Flagstaff, Arizona.