Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Senior Adriana Palomino has been named the Mountain West Swimmer of the Week after a record-setting weekend at the Phill Hansel Invitational in Houston.
Palomino competed in seven events, including three relays, and compiled one individual win, two runner-up finishes, one third-place finish and one fifth-place finish.
The senior completed the three-day meet with an individual win in the 1650-yard freestyle, shattering her previous mark in the event with a time of 16:14.63, which was an improvement if 7.71 seconds, and setting two school records in the process. Not only did she set the record for the 1650, but she also broke the record for the 1000-yard freestyle by almost three seconds with 9:51.67.
Her 1650 free time is the fastest in the Mountain West and currently ranks 18th in the NCAA. The time also qualified as an NCAA “B” standard time.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Palomino placed second overall after registering the top time in the preliminary round with 4:46.60. Her 4:43.77 time in the finals was exactly one second slower than her school record time, but it ranks as the fastest time this year in the MW and qualified for an NCAA “B” standard.
Palomino nearly set another record in the 200-yard freestyle with her time of 1:47.44, missing her school record by 0.27 seconds. However, she recorded the second-fastest time in the conference and placed third in the event.
Of the five relay events that took place at the invitational, Palomino participated in three of them.
As a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay, Palomino swam the second leg that finished second with 7:16.99. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, she swam the opening leg that placed fifth with 3:24.63 and swam the anchor leg of the 400-yard medley relay that finished in 3:50.44.
The honor marks the first of the season for Palomino, but the third in her career as she earned the distinction twice in 2017.
Coincidentally, the Tempe, Ariz., native also won the conference weekly honor one year ago after her results in the Phill Hansel Invitational, in which she set or tied two school records. In 2017, the swimmer set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle with 4:42.77 and tied her school record in the 1650-yard freestyle at 16:22.46, both events in which she either broke or came close to matching her times this time around.
Palomino currently holds four school records as an individual and one as a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay.
In her two meet appearances this season, the senior has posted four event wins- the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle at the home meet against Northern Arizona and the aforementioned 1650-yard freestyle at the Phill Hansel Invitational.
Palomino and the Lobos resume competition on Dec. 1 with a tri-meet against Mountain West schools Colorado State and Air Force at Air Force.