Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
Men
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy men’s swimming and diving team rolled to a comfortable 204-95 win over Denver in the annual Colorado Sprint Championships, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 30, at the Cadet Natatorium.
The unique meet saw five normal events contested, on top of three 50-meter sprint heats of each stroke that resulted in four-person finals. The Falcons controlled things from start to finish, winning all but one event, heats included.
Starting with the sprint finals, sophomore David Tao took first in the 50 fly, junior Isaac Gwin took first in the 50 back, senior Brendan Richichi took first in the 50 breast, and junior Corey Shepard took first in the 50 free.
Air Force’s other individual wins came by junior Adam Grimm in both the 200 free and the 200 IM. His altitude-adjusted time in the 200 IM was 1:49.21, which is the best in the WAC so far this season and the 10th-fastest time in program history.
Finally, Air Force won both relays contested on the day, as the squad of Gwin, sophomore Tory Bartlett, junior Andrew Limpert, and Shepard took gold in the 200 medley relay, and the team of Limpert, senior Erik Orr, freshman Jacob Bulseco, and Shepard took first in the 200 free relay.
The Falcon divers competed on both the 1-meter and 3-meter, but just intersquad as DU did not travel their diving team. Sophomore Brett Jenkins was the top scorer in the 1-meter with a 289.35, while Senior Cole Armagost was the high scorer in the 3-meter with a 350.70.
Air Force’s divers will be back in action next Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 4-6, for the Air Force Diving Invitational, while the swimmers will return to the pool Feb. 12-13 for the First Chance meet in Denver.
Women
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy women’s swimming and diving team knocked off Denver in the annual Colorado Sprint Championships, 192-162, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 30, at the Cadet Natatorium.
The unique meet saw five normal events contested, on top of three 50-meter sprint heats of each stroke that resulted in four-person finals. The Falcons had a strong day, winning five events, including three of the four sprint finals.
Air Force’s sprint wins came from sophomore Sefilina Maile in both the 50 fly and 50 free, while the third was via senior Kylie Stronko in the 50 back. Maile’s time in the semifinal 50 free heat was 23.17, which is the third-fastest time in program history and fourth-quickest in the MW this season.
The other two Falcon wins came in the relays, as the squad of Stronko, sophomore Mason Brown, freshman Allana Clarke, and Maile took first in the 200 medley relay, and the team of freshman Brooke Costella, senior Lexie DuChene, sophomore Shea Burcham, and Maile took gold in the 200 free relay.
On the diving board, AF competed in an intersquad as DU did not travel its diving team. AF’s top scorer in the 1-meter was freshman Kinzie Etzelmiller with a 257.10, while on the 3-meter, junior Curi von Schlagwas the top scorer with a 275.78.
Air Force’s divers will be back in action next Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 4-6, for the Air Force Diving Invitational, while the swimmers will return to the pool Feb. 12-13 for the First Chance meet in Denver.
Courtesy: Denver Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Denver men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs dropped a dual to Air Force in the annual Sprint Eliminator Meet between the two programs at the Academy.
Team Scores
Men:
Air Force 204-95
Women:
Air Force 192-162
Denver Event Wins
Women’s 200 Freestyle – Aysia Leckie – 1:53.94
Women’s 500 Freestyle – Daniela Alfaro – 5:11.00
Men’s 500 Freestyle – Riley Babson – 4:38.51
Women’s 50 Breast – Sophia Bricker – 29.41
Women’s 200 IM – Uma Knaven – 2:09.62
Meet Highlights
Denver got off to a good start on Saturday, sweeping the 200 free with impressive swims from Aysia Leckie, Ines Marin and Daniela Alfaro.
On the men’s side, Denver took spots 2-4 to split the score for the event with swims from Riley Babson, Mads Rishøj and Darragh Mahns.
In the next final, Alfaro won the women’s 500 free with a time of 5:11.00. Sofia Nosack and Izzy Smith also finished in the points with third and fourth place finishes, respectively.
Babson and Rishoj took 1-2 on the men’s side with times of 4:38.51 and 4:42.47 to give Denver 19 points out of the distance final.
Denver’s first sprint final win came in the women’s 50 breast where Sophia Bricker and Brandi Vu took the top two spots. Bricker finished in 29.41 and Vu was .02 seconds behind her teammate.
The Pioneer women swept the podium once again in the 200 IM when Uma Knaven, Charlotte Simon and Vu all turned in impressive swims.
Up Next
Denver’s divers will be in action next week at the Air Force Diving Invite from Feb. 4-6.
