HOUSTON (Feb. 19, 2026) – Junior Tara Joyce won the 200-yard Freestyle with a Wyoming and Mountain West record time while senior Alicia Gonzalez and the 200-yard Freestyle Relay crew finished on the podium on day two of the MW Swimming & Diving Championships, Thursday, in Houston, Texas.

"Tara Joyce! That's all you need to know," said head coach Dave Denniston. "Winning the 200 Freestyle with a conference record, school record and a ticket to the NCAAs is a program highlight she has earned."

He added, "We are all so proud of her and while there were some great performances today in the 200 Freestyle, 100 Fly and 400 IM as well as getting on the podium in the 200 Free Relay, today was Tara's day, and she deserves the spotlight."

200-YARD FREESTYLE
Junior Tara Joyce won her second 200-yard Freestyle title with a Wyoming and Mountain West record time of 1:44.43. With the MW title and NCAA standard time, she earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Joyce becomes just the second Cowgirl under head coach Dave Denniston to make the championships and the first in the 200-yard Freestyle since Pam Christensen in 1975.

Joyce repeats as the 200-yard Free conference champion after winning as a freshman in 2024. She would gain a significant lead over the race and finish as the only swimmer under 1 minute and 45 seconds. In the prelims, Joyce entered with the No. 2 time at 1:46.13.

Sophomore Avery True swam in the consolation final and took sixth, 14th overall. She touched the wall at 1:49.26. True made the "B" final after taking 13th in the prelims with a time of 1:49.86.

The last Cowgirl in the evening session was sophomore Macey Hansen in the "C" final. Hansen would also finish sixth in the final and 22nd overall with a time of 1:50.64. She improved from her prelim time of 1:51.49.

Joyce, True and Hansen added 48 team points for their performances in the finals.

Senior Berkeley Christensen would earn an alternate final spot with her time of 1:51.71 in the prelims for 26th.
Rounding out the placing Cowgirls were senior Ellie Fritscher and freshman Rose Jones. Fritscher took 37th at 1:53.24 while Jones finished with a time of 1:53.51 for 38th. Also in the prelims was freshman Ella Lesnever, touching the wall at 1:49.84, a personal best.

3-METER DIVING
"Divers had another long day with great performances," said head diving coach Mark Murdock. "Ali had another amazing day leading into finals tonight. She showed true grit against tough competition."

Senior Alicia Gonzalez followed her 1-Meter title yesterday by finishing runner-up in the 3-Meter Diving championship final with a score of 355.55. She would trail by just 0.45 points heading into the final round before capping her list for second place. With her personal best point total in the 3-Meter, Gonzalez moved up to No. 2 in program history. She made the championship final with the second-best score of 313.30 in the prelims.

"I know she's very happy with how she did and is excited for the next couple of days, said Murdock.

Senior Natalie Six returned to the consolation final after her 13th-place score of 255.65 in the prelims. In the final, she would finish fourth, 12th overall, with a point total of 272.40, a season best.

"Natalie just missed out on 'A' finals but had a great meet in the 'B' final," Murdock added.

Gonzalez and Six picked up 28 and 15 points, respectively, for the Cowgirls.

Freshman Sami Mandeville would take 32nd in the prelims with a score of 207.20 while freshman Savannah Kierstead scored 189.95 points.

200-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY
The Cowgirls added to their medal collection on day two with a third-place finish in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay. The crew of freshman Raiden Harris, senior Veronika Ozimek, junior Sophie Nutter and Joyce finished with a time of 1:30.16 for 54 team points. They would finish on the podium by just over half a second, beating the relay team from Colorado State.

This is the first time the Cowgirls have medaled in the 200 Free Relay since 2017, and first under head coach Dave Denniston.

100-YARD BUTTERFLY
Two Wyoming swimmers made the 100-yard Butterfly "C" final: Nutter and junior Tessa Bendokas. Nutter entered the finals with a time of 54.60, tied for 20th. In the final, she would finish fourth and 20th overall with a time of 54.73. Nutter's prelim time of 54.60 was a personal best No. 6 time in Wyoming history.

Bendokas would take fifth in the "C" final and tie for 21st overall with a time of 54.91. In the prelims, she would swim a time of 54.65 for 22nd, a personal best and No. 7 all-time.

The Cowgirl duo added 8.5 points with their finishes in the 100 Fly.

Sophomores Taylor Cureton and Abigail Bruss finished next to one another in the prelims with times of 55.97 for 32nd and 56.23 for 33rd, respectively. They were followed by freshman Isla Hardie with a personal best time of 55.25 and senior Anna Roesler touching the wall at 56.11.

400-YARD IM
Junior Katie Ford was the lone Cowgirl in the 400-yard IM final. She finished seventh in the "C" final and 23rd overall with a time of 4:27.75 for two team points. She earned a finals spot after swimming a time of 4:28.02 for 23rd.

Freshman Isabelle Henderson finished with an alternate spot in the prelims at 4:29.72 for 26th overall. She was followed by Makenna Reiner with a time of 4:30.91.

The Cowgirls remain steady in seventh with 320 points after day two action.

UP NEXT
Day three of the championships will begin with prelims for the 200-yard Butterfly, 100-yard Backstroke and 100-yard Breaststroke at 9:30 a.m. MT. Finals will start at 5 p.m. MT with the 200-yard Medley Relay and close with the 800-yard Freestyle Relay at 6:45 p.m. MT.

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