Wyoming and Air Force split the victories from their dual meet this weekend. Both were hard fought wins, with the men’s meet coming down to the final event of the day.
The defending conference champion in the 1,000 freestyle, Genevieve Miller from Air Force, was on form winning the 1,000 in 10:34.99. Sara Menke, also from Air Force, took 2nd in the event with a time of 10:37.00. The duo of Miller and Menke also took 1-2 in the 500 free, with times of 5:06.71, and 5:07.88 respectively.
Wyoming showed their strength, however, and swept the 100 breast. Maria Harutjunjan took the win with a 1:04.39 effort. Emily Ridout in 1:04.55, and Susanna Schumann in 1:07.73, followed Harutjunjan for the sweep. Maria Harutjunjan, the freshman from Estonia, then went on to win the 200 breast in 2:19.90, coming in just ahead of Kim Davis from Air Force who posted at 2:20.66.
Davis had a strong evening for Air Force, winning the 200 free with a 1:52.77, as well as the 200 IM. Davis was trailing Claudia Carlson from Wyoming, but took the lead on the breaststroke leg and secured the win with a 2:08.58. Carlson came second in 2:09.42, and Emma Dow from Wyoming was third in 2:11.72.
In diving, the Cowgirls took the top and second spots in the 1-meter springboard. Kari Campbell took the top position with 256.88 points, and Keely Bishop took the runner up spot with 239.73. Air Force took third with Lainie Long scoring 223.88. Long bounced back with a win in the 3-meter event, scoring 241.05. Bishop from Wyoming scored 238.28 for second, and Jessica Horn from the Falcons took third with 233.55.
The final relay had the Falcons of Air Force training the Cowgirls of Wyoming 150-133. The win from the Air Force ‘A’ relay (3:27.45) just wasn’t enough, as the Wyoming ‘A’ team came second (3:31.30) and won the dual meet 160-140.
With their 159.50 – 140.50 victory, the Wyoming Cowgirls move to 3-0 in the Mountain West. They next face New Mexico State at home on November 6. The women from Air Force are now 2-2, and next face Denver and Grand Canyon at home.
The men’s meet went down to the final event, but the impressive performances began early.
In the 1,000 freestyle, Ryan Ball from Wyoming and Andrew Faciszewski were shoulder to shoulder until the 500 yard mark. Ball then pulled away and won comfortably, touching in 9:35.65 with Cowboy Ryan Nelson also passing Faciszweski for second recording a 9:48.55. Fasiszweski timed a 9:53.33 for third. The Cowboys went on to take the top spots in the other distance event as well. Kevin Waller won the 500 free in 4:41.64, with Ryan Nelson coming in second in 4:43.66. Kevin Jackson from Air Force placed third with a 4:45.85.
Devon Davis, the Air Force sophomore dominated the 100 backstroke, winning by more than a body length in 49.50. Air Force swept the event with Kris Tillery coming in second (52.26) and Joey Gebhart taking third (52.91). Ryan Ball from Wyoming won the 200 back (1:49.92) over Tillery from Air Force (1:53.92). Ball pulled away in the final 50 yards after being even with Tiller for most of the race.
The Falcons won the 100 butterfly with a stellar effort from Ryan Dunne, winning in 50.00. George Eglesfield from Wyoming was second in 50.34.
The 200 IM was won by Ryan Nelson from Wyoming. He pulled away on the freestyle leg, and won in 1:53.23. Wyoming swept the top spots in the 200 IM with Ryan Ball touching in second with a 1:56.13, and Jordan Turner placing third in 1:56.59.
The Falcons swept the top spots in the 1-meter springboard. Nathanael Zillweger took top honros with 307.05 points. He was followed by Dominic Vallejo with 296.63, and AJ Eckebrecht with 265.43 points. Zellweger and Vallejo then went on to take first and third in the 3-meter event, with 315.08 and 276.60 points respectively. Jake Rehmeier from Wyoming took the second position with 288.68 points.
The Australian Adam Kalms showed his sprint freestyle dominance for the Cowboys. Winning the 100 free in 45.15. Jordan Dahle from Air Force was second in 45.77. In the 50 free, Ryan Dunne from Air Force posted a winning time of 21.04, with teammate George Frank coming in second in 21.08. Wyoming took third with Bryce Carter touching in 21.23.
Wyoming led by such a small margin going into the 400 free relay that the winner of final event would win the meet. In what was the most exciting event of the afternoon, the Air Force ‘A’ team of Frank, Dahle, Michael Hannigan, and Dunne touched the wall in 3:02.61 – beating the Wyoming ‘A’ squad of Kyle White, Waller, Ryan O’Leary, and Kalms, who posted a 3:02.75.
Air Force head coach Rob Clayton had this to say about the win: “I’m very proud of our team. It was an entire team effort, with everybody doing their part. It’s been a long time since we’ve beaten Wyoming. To be able to put our top sprinter up against their top swimmer, and just let them settle it at the end was a perfect end to the meet. Fortunately, Ryan (Dunne) was able to hold him (Adam Kalms) off. They are a tremendous team, and for us to get the win was huge for our team and our program.”
The Air Force men move to 4-0 and next face Grand Canyon at home on November 8. The Cowboys from Wyoming face Denver on Thursday October 30.