Justin Long
jlong25@uwyo.edu
Wyoming men and women’s swimming and diving competed in two days of the Colorado Mesa Invite on Dec. 1 and 2, then the Cowboys traveled to Green River, Wyoming to face off against the University of Utah on Dec. 3.
The men and women’s teams both finished in third-place after day two of the Colorado Mesa Invite, with Mesa and Colorado School of Mines ahead of the both squads.
The men started the second day off with a second place finish in the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:31.89. Then, sophomore Kyle Moore placed third in the 400-individual medley with a season best time of 4:11.58.
The Pokes then dominated the 200-freestyle by having the top three finishers. Sophomore Jack Herron finished first with a time of 1:38.40, followed by freshman Jacob Harlan and sophomore Liam Metzsch with times of 1:41.26 and 1:41.40, respectively.
The Cowgirls won the first race of the day, completing the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:45.86. Freshman Ellie Hohensinner then finished second in the 1000-freestyle, finishing with a season best time of 10:41.32. Senior Emily Stevens squeaked out a win in the 100-backstroke, winning by less than half of a second with a time of 55.29.
Sophomore diver Peyton GrandPre scored a 441.20 in the three-meter dive while senior Lauren Puglisi notched a 430.15, with the pair placing second and fourth, respectively.
On Dec. 3, the UW men fell to Utah 171-129 in Green River. The Pokes earned victories in 6 of the day’s 16 events.
“It was a great weekend of racing, I thought the team did a terrific job,” UW head coach Tom Johnson said. “We need to focus on continued improvement in the second half of the season and see what we can do.”
Herron once again won the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:40.76. Senior Gabe Rooker won both the 100 and 200-breaststroke events, while senior Ryan Ball won the 200-backstroke. Junior Wade Nelson took home a win in the 200 individual medley, while freshman Scotia Mullen won the three-meter dive.
Both the men and women’s teams competed in the preliminary races of the CMU Invite on Dec. 3, then departed so the men could join the rest of their team in Green River. UW swimming and diving will be back in action on Jan. 7 at 12 p.m. at Corbett Pool against Colorado School of Mines.
