The following is a press release courtesy of Colorado State University – Pueblo Swimming & Diving:
PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com – July 1, 2014) —Colorado State University-Pueblo Women’s Swimming & Diving Coach Brian Pearson has announced the program’s initial recruiting class, which includes 14 women from four different states and two foreign countries.
The group includes nine recent high school graduates, three California junior college transfers and a pair of current CSU-Pueblo students who will join the ThunderWolves’ initial team, which will begin NCAA Division II competition in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2014-15.
The states of California and Colorado are both well represented with four swimmers each, while Texas is also represented with three swimmers each. Deanna Harrisonof Orlando, Florida’s University High School, Malin Wallmon of Stockholm, Sweden and Leila Zijadic of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada will also join the Pack squad.
Wallmon will be joined by Santa Barbara City College teammate and Santa Barbara native Emily Foster, who earned junior college all-America honors in multiple events as did Clarissa Gardella for her hometown Bakersfield College in 2014.
Meanwhile, Sydney Anderson, who is coming out of Los Alamitos High School in Garden Grove and Samantha Sannes from Torrance’s South High School will also represent the country’s most populous state on the Pack roster.
The quartet from Colorado includes multiple-sport standout Taylor Wertz of Lamar High School, who did her swimming for the Lamarlins Seasonal Swim Club, as well as three Pueblo natives in Aimee Bond, Abbey Cira and Falisha Rief. Bond, who graduated from Pueblo South High School in 1991, and Rief, who graduated from East High School, in 2010 are current CSU-Pueblo students. Cira is a recent graduate of Pueblo Centennial High School.
Texas’ representatives to the recruiting class include Magdalena Contreras-Gomez of Austin’s Westlake High School, April McDonough from Frisco and Kayla Strohmeyer of Round Rock.
To view the complete recruiting class and the initial team roster, which include biographies on each swimmer, click here.
Pearson does expect a handful of additional team members that will be announced in the coming weeks.
Congratulations Brian on this very strong beginning group. I’m very happy to see swimming start at CSU-Pueblo. Good luck to yourself and the team, particularly to our two current students, Falisha Rief and Aimee Bond.
Congratulations Brian on your this very strong beginning group.