The UW men’s swimming and diving team finished their season strong this past week by placing second overall at the WAC Championships in Houston, Texas.
The Cowboys had many contributions and top ten finishes from a handful of swimmers to put themselves in the race for a conference title. The Cowboys were leading after days one and two, but Air Force was able to finished first with 794.5, edging out UW’s mark of 754 points.
“I really thought we had a chance to win the WAC when we put the team together back in September,” head coach Tom Johnson said. “I think we left a few opportunities slip through our hands but that’s bound to happen. You’ll always have events where you do worse than expected and events you do better than expected.”
The Cowboys were able to break three team records at the meet. Junior Kyle White broke the schools 50 freestyle record, while junior Wade Nelson was able to grab two records of his own in the 100 backstrokes and 200 IM.
Freshman Scotia Mullin broke the WAC record in the platform event, doing so in the preliminary round and adding to his record in the final to post a 423.85. The score was on 5 points off the school record.
Mullin and Nelson are currently in the hunt to qualify for the NCAAs, pending on other conference meets around the country.
“To have few guys on the verge of making NCAA’s is huge,” Johnson said. “The meet has gotten so fast, it just blows you away. It would be a really big deal for them.”
Senior Gabe Rooker became a WAC champion in the 200 breaststroke with his best time of the season, 1:56:35. Three Cowboys placed in the top eight of the 200 butterfly, led by sophomore Jack Herron who placed second with a time of 1:46.64. Junior Jacob Porter clocked a time of 1:46.21 to grab the third spot, and Nelson took fifth with a mark of 1:47.32
For Johnson, this season will conclude his career as the men’s swimming and diving coach after 19 seasons. Johnson is a former swimmer at the university, also formerly holding a school record in the 200 breaststroke.
“It’s been an honor to coach at my Alma Mater for as long as I have,” Johnson said. “I’ll treasure the relationships I’ve made, watching the kids grow up. I have former swimmers bringing their kids to conference meets. I felt like we always did everything we could possibly do to win, and I’m proud of what we have been able to do.”
