FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Oct. 3, 2026) – Wyoming closed with two second-place team finishes in the Front Range Invite on Saturday, in Fort Collins, Colo.

"Yesterday was awesome," said head coach Dave Denniston. "We had energy, we came in winning this meet and did a phenomenal job top to bottom."

On today's action, Denniston said, "We tested a lot of grit today and had a lot of challenges. We overcame those things and had some disappointments, but that's okay. That means we are fighting and proving we're getting better for each other."

While the Cowboys and Cowgirls lost their lead from day one, they each saw significant progress for the long season ahead. The men finished second with a score of 1,041 points while the women took second with 765 points, both behind Air Force.

COWGIRLS
"On our women's side, we always know Macey Hansen and Tara Joyce are going to do great things, but Taylor Craft has really stepped up this season," he added. "She has a clear vision of what she is going to do."

"I love watching Lorelai Frauenfelder swim as a freshman," said Denniston. "She is just mature beyond her age."

In the diving well at the Air Force Cadet Natatorium, senior transfer Lacey Neighbor and freshman Rylie Pendergrass held it down for the Cowgirls. Neighbor finished with a score of 214.60 for 12th in the 1-meter, 232.90 for ninth in the 3-meter and 196.15 for fifth in the platform. Pendergrass would take 21st in the 1-meter at 183.75 and 11th with a score of 218.05 in the 3-meter.

Day two in the pool began with the 200-yard medley relay. The Cowgirl "B" relay led the team in fifth with a time of 1:44.65 with help from senior Tessa Bendokas, senior Taylor Craft, senior Sophie Nutter and sophomore Raiden Harris. The relay added 28 points for the Cowgirl team. The "A" relay of freshman Ava Sims, freshman Marley Monsen, freshman Lorelai Frauenfelder and senior Tara Joyce touched next in sixth at 1:44.93.

Seven Cowgirls swam in the 400-yard IM, with Sims finishing with the best time for Wyoming. She touched the wall seventh with a time of 4:36.60. The next three finishers rounded out the scorers in the event with senior Katie Ford, sophomore Isabelle Henderson and sophomore Katherine Beauchene going 14-15-16. Ford touched the wall at 4:41.20, Henderson finished at 4:42.42 and Beauchene swam a time of 4:42.49. Freshmen Taylor Cole and Cameryn Walkup finished with times of 4:42.66 (17) and 4:43.23 (19), respectively. Sophomore Makenna Reiner closed out the event with a 24th-place finish at 4:48.90. Wyoming picked up 18 points in the event.

In the 100-yard butterfly, Frauenfelder led the team with a third-place finish of 56.16. The next best Cowgirl finish was Bendokas in eighth at 57.74 while junior Abigail Bruss picked up the last points in 10th with a time of 58.13. The three added 33 points.

Joyce swam a second-place time of 1:51.34 in the 200-yard freestyle to open the afternoon action. She was followed by junior Avery True's time of 1:54.98 in seventh. Sophomore Raiden Harris picked up the final points for Wyoming in 12th at 1:55.50, earning 34 points. Sophomore Rose Jones just missed out on scoring in 17th, touching the wall at 1:56.92. Others in the event were sophomore Ella Lesnever in 24th at 1:57.94, junior Macey Hansen swimming to 26th at 1:58.37 and Walkup taking 28th with a time of 1:58.73.

Craft had a great showing in the 100-yard breaststroke. She finished second with a time of 1:04.25. Monsen was the next-best Cowgirl with an eighth-place finish at 1:05.78. Sophomore Sienna Hawbaker and freshman Cameron House added more points with times of 1:08.45 for 13th and 1:08.91 for 15th, respectively. The Cowgirls contributed 34 points to the team total. Bruss and Cole rounded out the finishers in the event with a tie for 21st at 1:09.65.

Sims and Bendokas went 12-13 in the 100-yard backstroke with times of 58.73 and 58.77, respectively. Freshman Greta Marcott got into the top 16 with her finishing time of 59.36 for 15th. The three picked up 10.5 points. Reiner would finish in 34th with a time of 1:01.98 while Beauchene swam to 37th at 1:02.49.

Hansen got the job done in the 1,650-yard freestyle with her finish of 17:17.50. She would win the event by over 21 seconds. Freshman Lillian Borkowski and Henderson finished back-to-back with times of 18:10.83 (7) and 18:12.27 (8), respectively. The Cowgirls added 43 points from the mile.

The Cowgirls wrapped the meet with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The "A" crew of True, Harris, Frauenfelder and Joyce swam to a time of 3:25.10, including an impressive 50.61 split from the freshman Frauenfelder. The Wyoming "B" relay would take seventh with a time of 3:32.82 from Jones, Lesnever, Cureton and Nutter.

COWBOYS
"Jackson Kogler is on another level this year, even from what he did last season," said head coach Dave Denniston. Last season Kogler competed in two events at the NCAA Championships and won the conference freshman of the year award.

"Our new guys, Antonie Pieterse and Bryan Lombardi, are just racers and competitors, and it's become contagious across the team," said Denniston.

Senior Bruno Grau had a solid weekend diving with two third-place finishes. He scored 274.55 on the 1-meter and 282.60 on the 3-meter while taking sixth on the platform with 231.45 points. Sophomore Connor Liddle placed eighth with a score of 194 points on the 1-meter, eighth on the 3-meter at 233.05 points and took fifth with 238 points on the platform.

Cowboys continued their winning ways from yesterday with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The "A" squad of senior Simon Casey, junior Joe Morales, sophomore Bryan Lombardi and junior Luke O'Connor finished with a time of 1:31.71. The "B" relay took fourth with a time of 1:33.96 from freshman Joey Sudermann, freshman Marcel Jureko, junior Antonie Pieterse and junior Leo Kurucz. The two teams added 70 points.

Kogler added another win at the meet with his finish of 4:01.75 in the 400-yard IM. He finished more than 4 seconds ahead of the field. Junior Andrew Cooper and senior Cameron Knox wrapped the event with a time of 4:23.90 (13) and 4:23.95 (14), respectively. With Kogler's 20 points for first, the Cowboys earned 27 points for the team.

Lombardi and Pieterse had an exciting race to the finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Lombardi, the transfer from Louisville, took second with a time of 48.53. He was followed by Pieterse in third at 48.66. Two more Cowboys filled out the top five, with Sudermann taking fourth at 50.45 and senior Adam Pannell touching the wall at 50.95 for fifth. Sophomore Travis Ayers picked up points with his 11th-place finish of 52.42 while freshman Archer Sanchez took 12th at 52.72. Finally, junior Zack Smith swam to 16th with his time of 53.26 and junior Gray Sisco touched the wall at 54.34 for 17th. Wyoming picked up 74 team points after the 100 Fly.

Kurucz and Casey added big points when they finished 3-4 in the 200-yard freestyle with times of 1:43.36 and 1:43.47, respectively. Freshman Stephen Argabright rounded out the Cowboys in the event with a ninth-place finish of 1:45.35. The three earned 40 points for the team.

Morales led the men with a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. His time of 57.05 added 16 team points. Also in the 100 Breast, Jureko placed ninth with a time of 59.89.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Kogler secured 20 more team points with his winning time of 49.82. Sudermann touched the wall next for Wyoming at 51.13 for third. Knox came back after his 400 IM with a fifth-place finish of 52.07. In seventh was Casey with a time of 52.47 while O'Connor touched ninth at 53.26. Ayers wrapped the Cowboys' scoring with an 11th-place finish at 53.48. The men added 77 points on the 100 Back.

Junior Isaac Lee had a magnificent swim in the 1,650-yard freestyle. He fought to hold off a Denver challenger and eventually pulled ahead to win with a time of 16:01.03. Argabright also had a great swim with his third-place time of 16:23.95. Cooper also went on to swim a time of 17:01.46 for eighth. The trio earned 46 points.

The men showed off their relay depth when they went 1-3 to seal the meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The "A" squad of Pieterse, Kogler, Lombardi and O'Connor swam a combined time of 3:01.46 for the win. Casey, Morales, Kurucz and Pannell finished third with their time of 3:05.16.

UP NEXT
Wyoming will host a top-2 rematch from the Front Range Invite when it takes on Air Force at home next Saturday, Oct. 10, starting at 1 p.m.

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