ATLANTA (March 26, 2026) – Junior
Simon Casey broke the 200-yard Freestyle school record while senior
Alex Metzler and freshman
Jackson Kogler swam in the 400-yard IM to kick off Wyoming's time at the 2026 NCAA men's swimming and diving championships.
Casey made history in the Cowboys' last event of the day when he broke the 200-yard Freestyle school record in the prelims. He would win heat one with a time of 1:33.70 for 39th overall. His personal-best time broke Adam Kalms' (2014) school record of 1:33.74 and tied the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) record.
"Simon put the cherry on top of the morning in the 200 Free," said head coach
Dave Denniston. "He had one goal, and that was to break the school record and get the MPSF record. He tied the MPSF record, which is awesome, and is now the school record holder."
To start the day, Kogler and Metzler took on the 400-yard IM in heat one of the prelims. Kogler would swim a great morning time of 3:45.47 for third in the heat and 32nd overall. He improved on his seed entry of 37. Kogler will continue with the 200 IM on Saturday.
"First event of the day was the 400 IM where Alex and Jackson both got to swim against each other," said Denniston. "Jackson was able to shake the nerves as a freshman and swim in a professional race. I know we were all happy with his race, but know that if he had a chance to swim tonight, it would have been even faster."
"He [Kogler] is on track to have a great career at Wyoming, and it's cool that he is now an official NCAA swimmer," said Denniston.
Metzler also swam in heat one and touched the wall at 3:47.18 for sixth in the heat and 35th overall. He will have one more chance in the championship pool when he takes on the 500 Free.
"Great first swims for the University of Wyoming," Denniston added.
UP NEXT
Metzler will continue the Cowboy's action tomorrow in the 500-yard Freestyle starting at 8 a.m. MT.
Stay up to date with Wyoming swim and dive by following @wyo_swimdive on X and @wyo_swim_dive on Instagram.
-WYO-