COLORADO STATE VS NAU (WOMEN)
- Monday, January 5, 2026
- Flagstaff, Ariz.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Coming off the break, times weren’t the essence of the day, just results. On that front, Colorado State’s women’s swimming and diving team checked more in the spectacular column, pulling away from host Northern Arizona on Monday for a 163.5-136.5 dual victory at the Wall Aquatic Center.
Paced by a quad of 1-2 finishes in races, the Rams won 10 events in the meet, including the bookend relays as Erin Dawson posted a trio of race wins, with Lexie Trietley and Tess Whineray a pair each.
But a pep talk was required to start the day.
“We actually we had a little short chat before the meet because I was just sensing some trepidation about illness, injury, competing at altitude and I had to back off,” CSU coach Christopher Woodard. “I said you know we’re hyper focused on the outcome and we’re not focused on the process. So what’s your process?
“We don’t focus on your warm-up process, focus on your race strategy. So they got to that, and you know obviously when you start some with some wins you know right off the bat then you’re in a pretty good spot. You know things start to roll. So their energy was high, and their grit was apparent.”
Despite winning four the first eight events of the day – including 1-2 finishes in the 200-yard freestyle from Erin Dawson and Mia Axelman, and the 50 free from Lexie Trietley and Azalea Shepherd, the Rams were locked in a 76-74 battle with the only program in their history they’ve finished a dual with a draw. The Rams’ response was to win the next four races getting 1-2 postings in the 200 backstroke (Tess Whineray and Sophia Hemingway) and the 200 individual medley (Dawson and Monica Schmidt in a tie for second), a result which clinched the win as CSU improved to 4-2 in duals this campaign.
Dawson added a victory in the 500 free, giving her 55 race wins in her career. Trietley swept both freestyle sprints and Whineray took both backstroke events. Even with all of Dawson’s experience, even a multi-time conference champion needs a mental boost.
“She was probably one I was pointing to because she came to me the day prior and confessed she’s pretty nervous. Obviously being out of the pool for more than a week, battling illness and not feeling like she’s really at her level best, and then competing at altitude I think she felt like, ‘OK the deck is stacked against me, how am I gonna represent for my team?’ We just talked again about focus on the process, one race at a time, and I think that helped when she started off hot in the 200 free and got the win. That was encouraging for her so she’s in a good spot now.”
Quinn Whorley (1000 free), Wright (100 breast) and Evie Munz (100 fly) additionally had runner-up touches in races, while Margo Hauser, Hemingway, Axelman, Shepherd, Gabby Hall, Schmidt and Addie Wicklund all scored in multiple events, as did divers Riley Lee and Sydney Ovesen. Ovesen became the third diver this season to hit the NCAA Zones cut with her 266.18 on the 1-meter.
Colorado State took both the 400 medley and 200 free relays, with Trietley and Whineray swimming legs on both. In each event, the Rams finished third, with the depth of their performances helping to push the team forward.
“There were some absolutely critical touch-outs, whether it was Azalea getting the touch out in the 100 fly or Monica getting that touch out in that second place in the 200 IM,” Woodard said. “There are some people who sometimes don’t grab the limelight but are absolutely critical to the mission.”
The first week back for the team is just heating up as the squad will return from Arizona this week, then head to Colorado Springs on Saturday (11 a.m.) to face a pair of Mountain West foes, Air Force and New Mexico, in a double dual.
Courtesy: NAU Athletics
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 5, 2026) – Northern Arizona Swimming & Diving opened the new year on Monday afternoon at the Wall Aquatic Center against Colorado State. The Lumberjacks posted several event victories and had a dominant performance on the diving boards, but ultimately fell 136.5-163.5 to the Rams.
The Lumberjacks controlled both springboard events, sweeping the top three spots on 1-meter and 3-meter diving. Mackenna Stocker led the way with a winning score of 300.83 on the 1-meter, followed closely by Margaret Wesche (290.40) and Grace Wesche (282.68). Stocker backed up her performance with another victory on the 3-meter, scoring 320.33, while Margaret Wesche (312.83) and Grace Wesche (303.60) once again completed the sweep for NAU.
Northern Arizona also picked up multiple wins in the pool, highlighted by strong distance and butterfly performances. Teddy Sabev opened the scoring surge for the Lumberjacks by winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:38.31, while Cydnie Perkins followed with a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, touching in 1:02.18. In the 200-yard butterfly, Kaci Kelaher claimed first place with a time of 2:04.14, narrowly edging teammate Elsa Musselman, who finished second in 2:04.16 for a key NAU one-two finish. Musselman later returned to win the 100-yard butterfly in 55.17.
The Lumberjacks opened the meet with a strong showing in the 400-yard medley relay, as the “A” team of Gracie Munk, Perkins, Isahbel Krasht, and Kokona Watanabe finished second with a time of 3:42.18. To close the afternoon, NAU’s top quartet of Watanabe, Musselman, Camryn Brown, and Munk combined for a 1:34.12 finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Northern Arizona continued to stack points throughout the meet with depth across multiple events, including a third-place finish from Evalotta Aabrams in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.82) and a fourth-place effort from Rosie Keith (1:54.48), keeping the Lumberjacks within striking distance through the middle of the dual.
Head coach Andy Johns reflected on the meet and the growth opportunity it provided.” It was a great meet and we were right there early, but after that first break they came out and took control for a stretch and we couldn’t quite recover,” Johns said. “Our diving group was outstanding and really kept us in it with the one-two-three sweeps, and the 200 butterfly was another big moment for us. Overall, our group is a little tired, and that’s okay, this is a great learning opportunity. We’ll take a lot from it, get better, and turn our focus to Arizona on Friday for another good test.”
Head Diving Coach Nikki Kelsey praised her group’s consistency and early-season confidence. “I thought our divers did a great job showing confidence and consistency this early in the season, which is exactly where we want to be right now,” Kelsey said. “There are still things we can clean up, we don’t want to be at our best yet, but this was a really good place to start. Going one-two-three on both boards is incredible, and Kirsten is coming along well and starting to put together some really good dives. We’re excited about where this group is heading as we move into the rest of the semester and toward the championship meets.”
Northern Arizona returns to action this Friday Jan. 9 with a road test in Tucson, Ariz, facing the Arizona Wildcats.
