Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Longtime San Diego State head coach Mike Shrader guided the Aztecs to their record 10th Mountain West women’s swimming & diving championship title on Feb. 21, helping earn him Competitor Coach of the Month honors.
Shrader is currently in his 19th season as the head coach at SDSU, having been hired prior to the 2007-08 campaign, and his teams have evolved into a dominant force in the MW, claiming all 10 of their conference titles since the 2010-11 season.
San Diego State scored 1,367.5 points to win the 2026 title by 265 points over runner-up Washington State (1,102.5), their biggest margin of victory since 2023, when they ran away by 535 points over UNLV.
Out of the Aztecs’ seven swimmers who scored 50+ individual points, five of them set at least one personal best, and three of them went a perfect three-for-three.
Leading the way was sophomore Kaydence Bispo, who set new lifetime bests en route to placing 2nd in the 50 free (22.43), and 4th in both the 100 free (49.06) and 200 free (1:47.30).
She also led off the runner-up 400 free relay in 49.27, as the quartet of Bispo, Allison Mann (48.92), Melanie Quinto (49.06) and Alyssa Schiller (49.01) combined for a time of 3:16.26, which ranks 2nd all-time in school history.
In the 200 free relay, Mann (22.69), Bispo (22.16), Quinto (22.15) and Schiller (21.74) clocked 1:28.74 to place a close 2nd to Washington State (1:28.52) while coming just nine one-hundredths shy of the school record.
The second-highest scorer among swimmers for San Diego State was junior Reka Nyiradi, who notably clocked a lifetime best of 1:57.76 in the 200 fly prelims to rank #2 all-time in program history, less than six-tenths shy of the school record (1:57.17). Nyiradi went on to place 4th in the 200 fly final (1:58.07) while matching that position in the 400 IM (4:13.22) with a new PB and adding a 6th-place finish in the 200 back (1:57.38).
The senior duo of Moa Bergdahl and Abby Storm impressed, with Bergdahl shining in the breaststroke events and 200 IM and Storm showing out in the backstroke events. Bergdahl scored 72 individual points, placing 5th in the 100 breast, 6th in the 200 IM and 7th in the 200 breast, while Storm put up 64 after taking 3rd in the 200 back, 4th in the 100 back and 16th in the 100 fly.
Additionally, both performed well on the medley relays. In the 200 medley, Storm (24.64), Bergdahl (27.40), Mann (23.66) and Schiller (21.66) combined for a time of 1:37.32, good for the runner-up position behind Washington State and the 4th-fastest time in school history.
In the 400 medley, Storm (52.51), Bergdahl (58.64), Mann (53.15) and Schiller (48.98) helped earn the Aztecs another 2nd-place finish behind WSU while positing the second-fastest time in school history (and fastest since 2019).
Other top performers in the pool included Quinto, a freshman who set best times across the board and landed a pair of 9th-place finishes in the 100 back and 200 back to go along with a 10th-place showing in the 200 free, and sophomore Liv Peebles, who set new bests in the 100 back, 200 back and 100 fly en route to 7th, 11th and 13th-place finishes, respectively.
San Diego State also got a big boost from its diving crew during the meet, led by junior Isabella Gomez, who led the team with 86 points and was their lone event winner by claiming the platform title. Freshman Belen Gaxiola (78) and junior Alina Skrocki (70) were also big scorers from the boards for the Aztecs.
This past weekend, San Diego State’s swimmers were back in action at the SMU Last Chance Invite, and highlighting their effort was Nyiradi, who swam the 200 fly twice and went under the existing school record both times, clocking 1:56.97 and 1:57.09. Her 1:56.97 swim lowers Wilma Johansson‘s program record of 1:57.17 set in 2023.
In addition to San Diego State’s 10 Mountain West titles marking a new conference record, their run of five straight also matches BYU (2000-04) for the most consecutive title victories in MW history. The victory will be last for the Aztects in the Mountain West, with the school officially joining the Pac-12 on July 1, 2026.
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The Sandwich King! Congrats my friend. A class act.
Congratulations, Mike
I was at the Meet.
Good racing all the way around
Met with Coach Shrader probably 10 years ago regarding a Volunteer coaching position with SDSU. Still remember our afternoon together like it was yesterday. One of the most genuine men you will find on a pool deck. Grounded, Humble, and as intentional as any man I’ve come across. He does not get the credit he deserves.
I’ve been fortunate to meet some coaches who lead elite programs, and no one has left an impression that way Mike has. I was incredibly happy to see this article. God Bless, Coach Shrader!