NEW MEXICO STATE VS UTRGV (WOMEN)
- January 10, 2026
- Edinburg, Texas
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: NM State Sports
EDINBURG, Texas – On Saturday, NM State Swimming & Diving visited UTRGV for a head-to-head clash at the site of this year’s conference championship meet. The Aggies comfortably defeated the hosts, taking 13 victories in 16 events, prevailing by a 209-149 tally. Rick Pratt‘s squad picked up the first MPSF victory in program history after joining the league last summer.
Head Coach Rick Pratt, on the victory: “Today was very productive and we had some great efforts in the pool. It was hard to find speed after the heavy training and travel this week, but they were persistent and finished their races well with good skills. We had several best dual meet in-suits performances and over all were in a great place moving forward.”
The quartet of Jamie Puhalski, Foteini Charitou, Willow Messner and Callie Ceshker opened up the day with a victory in the 200 medley relay (1:48.14), mere hundredths of a second ahead of their teammates. Thea Masselink, Kodi Wiman, Emily Dobbins and Caroline Costantini tallied a time of 1:48.21 as the Aggies started the affair 1-2.
The podium was a clean sweep in the 1000 free, with Katie Rink (10:36.13), Estel Galo (10:59.11) and Riley Crespo (11:00.01) all clearing the best Vaquero mark. Three more Aggies medaled in the ensuing 200 free, with Dijana Mazumdar (1:53.64), Naomi Slee (1:54.97) and Dreamer Kowatch (1:57.76) taking the hardware.
One of UTRGV’s three event wins came in the 100 back, however Dobbins (58.00) and Masselink (58.71) both touched the wall less than a second later. Two more Crimson & White swimmers then posted top-three times in the 100 breast. Charitou took the crown at 1:07.01, exactly three tenths of a second ahead of Wiman for another 1-2 finish.
Messner and Galo kept the gold and silver results coming, tallying a 2:07.95 and 2:08.61, respectively, in the 200 fly. Then, Mazumdar (24.39) and Rink (24.81) were the first two to touch the wall in the 50 free.
Mira Tinani made her first splash of the day with a second-place dive on the 3m board, notching a 252.00. Addison Pastiak (237.60), Megan Ono (230.63) and Peytton Moore (226.95) rounded out the field of seven.
Mazumdar notched another victory in the 100 free, tallying a 52.52 ahead of teammates Ceshker (54.24) and Kowatch (54.43) on the podium. In the 200 back, Masselink and Puhalski then went 2-3 as the duo touched the wall in 2:05.95 and 2:06.18, respectively.
Charitou and Wiman followed up with yet another event title, taking first and second with times of 2:25.03 and 2:25.46 in the 200 breast. In the ensuing race, Slee, Rink and Galo swept the trophies, all finishing seven seconds ahead of any Vaquero in the 500 free.
The 100 fly belonged to Messner (58.10) and Dobbins (59.76) as the only two to record sub-minute times. Then, the divers returned for their final showing on the 1m board. Tinani wowed once again, fighting out a win with a 272.70 score. Pastiak’s 211.87 was good for third, while Ono (174.00) and Moore (166.50) went 6-7.
Slee and Crespo went 1-3 in the 200 IM, notching a 2:09.11 and 2:13.95 mark, respectively. Finally, the 400 free relay rounded out the afternoon. Dobbins, Mazumdar, Costantini and Rink took gold with a 3:33.90 posting. Less than five seconds later, a second-place grouping of Puhalski, Messner, Ceshker and Kowatch reached the wall.
With 35 of the 48 possible podium spots going their way, the visitors cruised to victory. The group claimed its second straight dual victory, doing so by a 60-point margin on Saturday while clinching the program’s first against a fellow MPSF member.
UP NEXT
Following the meet, Rick Pratt‘s bunch is set to return on Jan. 29. The divers will be in action at NAU’s Lumberjack Diving Invite, spanning three days through Saturday, Jan. 31. That morning, the swimmers will hit the pool back home for a rivalry bout with New Mexico. The Battle of I-25 is slated to start at 11:30 AM from Las Cruces as the Aggies celebrate their senior class.
Courtesy: UTRGV Athletics
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros swimming & diving program battled but ultimately fell to New Mexico State Aggies (NMSU), 209-149, Saturday at the City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium.
Sophomore Annaleagh Stahl opened the spring strong sweeping the backstroke events with wins in the 100 (57.90) and 200 (2:04.30) and earned another win in the 200 individual medley (2:12.92) to secure 27 points for the Vaqueros.
A determined sophomore Manou Meulebeek showcased her ability on the boards, scoring 301.05 in the 3-meter to win the event. The next closest diver was NMSU’s Mira Tinani who finished with 252.00. In the 1-meter, Meulebeek finished in second with a score of 270.00 to secure a total of 14 points for UTRGV.
The Vaqueros closed the meet on a high note, claiming first, second, and third in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of freshman Sarah Bull, sophomore Ida Rudelius, freshman Dia Henderson, and sophomore Olivia Votava combined to win the event in 3:43.14. Meanwhile, the team of sophomore Madiana Lofgren, freshman Jaydy Jay, junior AJ Rogers, and freshman Ellinor Plant finished in second with a 3:53.28.
The Vaqueros opened up the meet with a near-record breaking time of 1:50.66 in the 200 medley relay as the team of Stahl, Jay, Rudelius, and Henderson combined to take third in the event.
The Vaqueros earned a trio of third place finishes in three consecutive events, starting with Jay, who swam 1:08.10, in the 100 breaststroke. In the 200 butterfly, Bull finished in 2:13.03 while Henderson swam a 25.16 in the 50 freestyle.
After the diving break, breaststroke specialist Jay earned another third-place finish in the 200 with a time of 2:25.85. Bull also captured another third-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.88.
The Vaqueros will hit the road for their next meet at North Texas on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the Pohl Recreation Center & PEB Natatorium.
Complete Results
200 medley relay
3. Annaleagh Stahl, Jaydy Jay, Ida Rudelius, Dia Henderson, 1:50.66
4. Sasapin Sarawas, Ava Light, Madiana Lofgren, AJ Rogers, 1:54.07
5. Lauren Uribe, Diara Aleman, Alexia Gonzalez, Mia Gonzalez, 2:03.44
1000 freestyle
4. Olivia Votava, 11:18.47
5. Ellinor Plant, 11:20.45
200 freestyle
4. Madiana Lofgren, 2:05.54
5. AJ Rogers, 2:07.88
6. Mia Gonzalez, 2:24.32
100 backstroke
1. Annaleagh Stahl, 57.90
5. Sasapin Sarawas, 1:01.22
6. Lauren Uribe, 1:09.69
7. Caitlyn Brown, 1:16.92
100 breaststroke
3. Jaydy Jay, 1:08.10
4. Ava Light, 1:11.90
6. Marina Johnson, 1:16.66
7. Diara Aleman, 1:20.90
200 butterfly
3. Sarah Bull, 2:13.03
50 freestyle
3. Dia Henderson, 25.16
4. Ida Rudelius, 25.27
6. Gio Pierami, 26.22
7. Caitlyn Brown, 31.24
3-meter springboard
1. Manou Meulebeek, 301.05
3. Samantha Hill, 240.98
4. Delaney Murphy, 239.40
100 freestyle
4. Dia Henderson, 54.67
5. Gio Pierami, 58.97
6. Madiana Lofgren, 59.04
7. Mia Gonzalez, 1:01.82
200 backstroke
1. Annaleagh Stahl, 2:04.30
4. Sarah Bull, 2:06.66
5. Sasapin Sarawas, 2:16.88
6. Lauren Uribe, 2:31.28
200 breaststroke
3. Jaydy Jay, 2:25.85
5. Ava Light, 2:41.27
6. Diara Aleman, 2:53.91
500 freestyle
4. Olivia Votava, 5:30.59
5. Ellinor Plant, 5:34.12
6. AJ Rogers, 5:44.19
100 butterfly
3. Sarah Bull, 1:00.88
4. Ida Rudelius, 1:01.08
6. Alexia Gonzalez, 1:07.33
1-meter springboard
2. Manou Meulebeek, 270.00
4. Samantha Hill, 208.58
5. Delaney Murphy, 189.00
200 individual medley
1. Annaleagh Stahl, 2:12.92
2. Olivia Votava, 2:21.82
3. Marina Johnson, 2:23.06
4. Diara Aleman, 2:38.27
400 Freestyle Relay
1. Sarah Bull, Ida Rudelius, Dia Henderson, Olivia Votava, 3:43.14
2. Madiana Lofgren, Jaydy Jay, AJ Rogers, Ellinor Plant, 3:53.29
3. Mia Gonzalez, Lauren Uribe, Gio Pierami, Marina Johnson, 4:04.73
