The Colorado State Rams took on the New Mexico State at home and delivered a 180-117 defeat to the Aggies at Moby Pool. A combination of solid performances in the pool and on the platform led the Rams to wins in 11 of 16 events.
“It felt good to see strong performances all across the board,” Rams Head Coach Christopher Woodard said in a statement to CSU Athletics. “I think we saw the type of team we’re capable of being.”
Colorado State kicked off the meet with a win in the 400 Medley Relay. The Rams’ A team (3:53.28) finished almost seven seconds ahead of New Mexico State’s A team, who touched second in 4:00.12.
Freshman Ram Hailey Spratte led a Colorado sweep in the 1000 Free (10:42.92) and earned her first collegiate win. Her teammates Madi Evans (10:50.94) and Gabby Morley (10:55.68) took second and third, respectively.
Colleen Olson, another Colorado State freshman, also picked up her first win of her collegiate career in the 200 Free (1:55.37). Aggie freshman Cori Molisee touched second in 1:57.24, just two tenths of a second ahead of sophomore Ram Karin Roh (1:57.45).
Colorado State rolled on with the event wins, as junior Jess Shepard took the 100 Back in 57.57. New Mexico State’s Cassandra Rupp followed up for second in 59.66, just ahead of sophomore Ram Liz Prasse (59.94).
Junior Cristina Bassani led a 1-2 Ram sweep in the 100 Breast (1:05.66) ahead of senior teammate Tess Simpson (1:06.19). Aggie Senior Jessica Legge touched third in 1:09.41.
New Mexico State responded to the four unanswered Colorado State firsts with a win by senior Aggie Dorottya Lennert in the 200 Fly (2:05.88). She was over four seconds ahead of the rest of the field, with Colorado State teammates Meg Lloyd (2:10.14) and Allie Jacobs (2:12.83) taking second and third.
Colorado State freshman Katie Kicklighter contributed to the impressive underclassman performance with a pair of wins, the first of which was in the 50 Free (23.97) by almost a full second. Her teammate Karin Roh (24.94) was second, just ahead of New Mexico State’s Chelsey Reber (25.12).
Kicklighter also picked up a win for the Rams in the 100 Free to complete a sweep of the sprint events (52.73). She led a 1-2-3 Colorado State sweep, with her teammates Karin Roh (53.66) and Colleen Olson (54.31) taking second and third.
Junior Ram Jess Shepard completed a sweep of the Backstroke events with a win in the 200 Back (2:05.79), almost five seconds ahead of New Mexico State’s Cassandra Rupp (2:10.62).
Another double event winner for the Rams was Cristina Bassani, whose second win came in the 200 Breast (2:23.73). She led yet another 1-2-3 Ram sweep ahead of freshman Ram Meg Lloyd (2:26.37) and sophomore Jenna Beaury (2:28.68).
New Mexico State’s second event win came in the 500 Free, as 200 Free runner-up and Aggie freshman Cori Molisee swam to first in a 5:11.41. Colorado State’s Gianna Salanitro was second in 5:15.98.
Aggie Dorottya Lennert picked up a second win and swept the Fly events with a first-place finish in the 100 Fly (57.28) ahead of senior Ram Tess Simpson (58.56). Aggie Jannah Sonnenschein finished just behind Simpson for third (58.77).
The Colorado State divers gave a solid performance on the platforms, with junior Ram Ariana Milone taking first in the 1-meter and the 3-meter. Her 3-meter score (322.50) was a personal best and the second best score in CSU school history. Milone’s 1-meter score (288.45) was the fifth best in school history.
New Mexico State’s Lennert ended up a triple event winner with a win in the 200 IM, swimming a 2:10.47. The Colorado State Rams began exhibition swims for the last two events of the meet. Freshman Ram Meg Lloyd finished with the second-fastest time in 2:12.96 in her exhibition swim. New Mexico State senior Jessica Legge was officially second in 2:15.86.
The Aggies’ A team took the 200 Free Relay in 1:40.67, with Colorado State’s A team swimming a 1:38.10 exhibition swim.
Read the full meet results here.
Congrats to Colleen Olson for her first collegiate win!