Junior Maria Harutjunjan and freshman Karla Contreras competed at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships March 16-18 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the fifth time that multiple Cowgirls qualified for the national tournament.
Harutjunjan qualified for the 100 breaststroke by winning the event at the Mountain West Championship with a career best time of 59.85. She is the fifth Cowgirl to ever go to the event in back to back years. Contreras will compete in the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving events, making her only the second Cowgirl to qualify for all three. She will be the only Mountain West diver to compete in all three events.
“I was thrilled with how Maria performed at Mountain West Championships” head coach Tom Johnson said. “She just needed to be confident and to get under a minute in the 100 breaststroke is a historic swim.”
Harutjunjan finished 40th in the preliminary round of the 100 breaststroke on day two, recording a time of 1:01.08. Contreras finished 19th in the 1-meter competition on day one with a score of 269.40. On day two, Contreras finished 22nd in the 3-meter with a score of 298.20.
“Karla faced some adversity at Zones but she still went out and did her thing, which is being consistent and doing her dives like she knows how to do them,” head diving coach Kyle Bogner said. “It’ll be a great experience for her to see where she fits in and figure out how far she wants to go. The sky is the limit for her and wherever she puts that cap is where it will be.”
Contreras also placed 37th in the platform competition with a score of 215.30. She is the first Cowgirl freshman to compete at nationals since Norma Hughes in 1991.
