HOUSTON, Texas (2/18/23) – Maisyn Klimczak had come close to her first-ever Mountain West Conference Championship on two different occasions. The University of Wyoming sophomore placed runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle Thursday before touching third in the 200-yard freestyle Friday.

On Saturday, the final day of the conference championships inside CRWC Natatorium, Klimczak finally broke through. And she did so emphatically.

Klimczak cruised to a victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She broke a school record she held by nearly four seconds, swimming a time of 16:20.46.

"The highlight of the day for our team was Maisyn taking control of the mile and dominating from start to finish," head coach Dave Denniston said. "She broke both her school records in the 1,000 and the 1,650."

Klimczak's performance spearheaded the effort to catch and vault Nevada in the team standings. The Cowgirls ended third with 937 points, while San Diego State won the championships and UNLV took runner-up with 1,693 and 1,103 points, respectively.

Klimczak wasn't alone on the 1,650 awards' podium. She had plenty of friendly company, as Wyoming occupied half of the podium spots in the mile.

Sage Morton touched fifth after clocking in at 16:42.10. Britt Nichols and Roxanna Ramirez finished sixth and eighth, respectively, with times of 16:46.28 and 16:51.91.

"Our milers needed to excel, and they did big time," Denniston said. "Britt Nichols was in the early heat, and she dropped 13 seconds to place in the top eight for the first time in her career. Senior Roxy Ramirez went out with a best time, placing eighth. Laramie native, Sage Morton, dropped nine seconds to place fourth from Lane 8."

Kayla Cunningham touched sixth in the 200-yard backstroke. She recorded a time of 1:58.74.

Brynlee Busskohl finished seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke. She registered a time of 2:14.43.

Gabriella Haigler took eighth in platform. She compiled a score of 260.15.

"Once again, our divers stepped up and scored big time," Denniston said. "Nettie Knapton won the consolation round and Gabriella made finals. The divers kept us in reach of Nevada."

The 400-yard freestyle relay closed the book on the championships with a sixth-place finish. The collection of Carly Palmer, Lauren Swartz, Rachael Horne and Kali Franckowiak logged a time of 3:22.67.

"This team has a lot of heart," Denniston said. "They placed much higher than any other team thought they would."

This concludes the season for the Cowgirls. The Cowboys compete in the Western Athletic Conference Championships in Pharr, Texas, beginning Wednesday.