Vuk Celic Posts 15:20 Mile, Hawaii Men Roll Past UNLV and Wyoming

UNLV vs Hawaii vs Wyoming

• Thursday-Friday, January 28-29, 2021
• Buchanan Natatorium, Las Vegas, NV
• SCY (Short Course Yard)
• Results

Team Scores

Men

• Hawaii – 256, Wyoming – 97
• Hawaii – 200, UNLV  – 153
• UNLV – 277, Wyoming – 75

Men’s Recap:

UNLV’s Reece Hemmens posted some of the fastest freestyle splits seen at the meet. Hemmens anchored the UNLV A 200 medley relay to victory in 19.52, marking the fastest 50 free split at the meet all weekend. Hawaii’s Adam Franz was next fastest, splitting 19.60, which also came on the medley relay. Hemmens also provided a 44.54 anchor on the UNLV A 400 free relay, which was again the fastest 100 free seen at the meet.  Individually, Hemmens was off his relay performances. He ultimately came in 3rd in the 50 free with a 20.79, and 7th in the 100 with a 46.51.

Adam Franz was pivotal for Hawaii, providing an individual win as well as 3 relay wins. Franz took the 100 free with a 44.64, touching as the only swimmer in the field under 45 seconds. He then capped his meet off by leading-off on the Hawaii A 400 free relay in 44.59, slightly faster than his individual time. The Rainbow Warriors put together a deep relay, as Franz was followed by sub-45 splits from Micah Masei (44.96), Tim Masten (44.85), and John Clark (44.99), resulting in a 2:59.39.

Franz also anchored the 200 free relay in 19.86, solidifying Hawaii’s lead, and helping to earn them another relay win with a 1:21.29. Franz’s first race at the meet was a 44.69 anchor split on the winning Hawaii 400 medley relay (3:18.36), which was right in line with his other 100 freestyles.

Micah Masei, a member of the winning Hawaii 400 free relay had previously won the 50 free with a 20.41. Hawaii also picked up a 2nd-place finish in that race, with Tim Masten touching next with a 20.56. Masten was the winner of the 100 fly, where he touched in 49.64 after a tight race with UNLV’s Michal Cukanow (49.71).

UNLV’s Vuk Celic was a double event winner this weekend, with a 2nd-place finish to boot. Celic first won the 1650 in dominant fashion, posting a 15:20.88 to touch first by a whopping 26 seconds. Celic took the race out with a 4:34.42 on the first 500, and followed it up with a 4:39.74 on the 2nd 500, for a 9:14.16 1000 split. He then split 4:43.02 on the 3rd 500, before coming home in 1:23.70 (4:39.00 500 pace) on the final 150.

Celic also took the 500 free with a 4:25.90, finishing as the only swimmer in the field under 4:30. He led the race from start to finish, posting the fastest split in the field on all 10 50s. Celic then swam a 1:39.51 to take 2nd in the 200 free, touching behind Hawaii’s John Clark (1:39.03).

Hawaii’s Talon Lindquist picked up a pair of wins at the meet, taking the 200 fly and the 400 IM. In the 200 fly, Lindquist held on the best, passing up Wyoming’s Harold Tjaden (1:51.30) and UNLV’s Panos Bolanos (1:51.73) on the final 50 to finish in 1:50.88. Lindquist went on to post a 3:58.58 in the 400 IM, establishing a huge early lead, which he was able to hold onto for the win.

PRESS RELEASE – UNLV:

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV women’s swimming and diving team completed a sweep of their double-dual meet with Hawaii and Wyoming, while the Rebel men’s squad secured the split of its pair of meets with a win over Wyoming and a defeat to the Hawaii Friday at Jim Reitz Pool. The meet marked the final regular-season home contest for the Rebels, and was also Senior Day for both squads.

In their pair of victories, the Scarlet and Gray women outscored the Cowgirls 222-131 and the Rainbow Wahine 195-152. On the men’s side, the Rebels topped the Cowboys 277-75 and fell to the Warriors 200-153.

REBELS OF THE MEET:
Women- Junior Julia Filippova placed first in the 200 free (1:49.13) and second in the 500 free (4:55.21).
Men- Vuk Celic posted victories in the 1650 free (15:20.88) and 500 free (4:25.90) and finished second in the 200 free (1:39.51).

THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
* UNLV’s ‘A’ unit consisting of senior Kate Afanasyeva, freshman Tosia Iwanowska, freshman Sarah Koopmans and senior Caitlyn Schreiber combined for a Mountain West-leading time of 1:40:37 in the 200 medley relay to edge Hawaii’s ‘A’ squad for the win, as Schreiber surpassed the Warriors on the anchor leg to hand the Rebels the victory by .26 seconds.
*Freshmen Ruby Howell (2:16.85), Calysta Bartlett (2:17.82) and Tosia Iwanowska finished 1-2-3 in the 200 breast to steal the show for UNLV on its Senior Day with their event sweep. It was the second time Bartlett placed second during the two-day meet.
*The third Scarlet and Gray victory of the afternoon came in the 200 free behind Filippova’s effort. Competing in the first of her Senior Day events for the Rebels, senior Lauren Smith (1:52.23) placed sixth in the 200 free. Camryn Wheals (1:53.71) and Schreiber (1:56.29) also represented UNLV’s senior class in the event.
*UNLV pulled off a second sweep of the afternoon in the 400 IM, as junior Gabby Lizzul (4:27.24) came away with the win, Bartlett (4:27.59) notched her third second-place finish of the meet and Howell (4:29.49) added a third-place finish.
*Junior Kacey Kiuchi pacedd the Rebels in the 200 back, clocking a time of 1:59.91 to finish second.
*The Scarlet and Gray junior duo of Filippova and Ash (4:57.40) turned in second-place and third-place finishes, respectively, in the 500 free to add their squad’s scoring. Senior Lauren Smith put forth a fifth-place finish in the event, swimming a time 4:59.61 on her Senior Day appearance.
*In the 50 free, UNLV junior Kristina Schneider notched a second top-3 finish for the meet with a second-place time of 23.38. Schreiber (23.71) and senior Eva Kim (24.04) capped the event for the Rebels in fourth and eighth place, respectively. Adding to the Rebel seniors racing in the 50 free, Kennedy Hood finished with a time of 24.14 and Wheals logged a mark of 24.22.
*Junior Montse Moreno ended the two-day competition with two top-2 finishes representing the Scarlet and Gray on the diving board, as she landed in second in the 3-meter with a score of 265.75 in the finals.

THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*The Rebel men kicked their Senior Day off with a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay, as its ‘A’ team of sophomore Panos Bolanos, junior Jack Binder, McEuen and freshman Reece Hemmens recorded a time of 1:29.60 to squeeze ahead of Hawaii’s ‘A’ unit (1:29.88) by .28 seconds.
*Celic’s second victory of the meet in the 500 free was part of a UNLV sweep of that event, as sophomores Christopher Mykkanen (4:30.24) and Cameron Castro finished in second and third, respectively.
*Picking up his first win of the meet for the Scarlet and Gray, junior Ivan Zhukau’s (2:03.32) first-place finish paved the way for three top-5 Rebel finishers in the 200 breast. Reaching the wall after Zhukau were junior Jack Binder (2:06.58) in third and senior Sean Gage in fourth (2:07.25).
*In addition to his victory, Zhukau went on to take second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:01.84.
*Senior Jesse Cawley earned the 3-meter win in his final home diving competition, racking up a score of 330 in finals.
*In a tight 100 fly race with two UNLV swimmers in the top-3, junior Michal Cukanow (49.71) battled until the finish to come within .07 seconds of the top spot in second place. Sophomore Steven Butler brought home the third-place finish with a time of 50.24.
*Placing third behind his Rebel teammate Celic in the 200 free, senior Bryan Chavez reached the finish with a time of 1:40.15.
*UNLV’s ‘B’ squad of Mykkanen, Gage, McEuen and Bolanos (3:01.21) touched just ahead of its ‘A’ team of Chavez, senior Richard Szilagyia, Butler and Hemmens (3:01.34) in the 400 free relay, as the two posted respective finishes of second and third to top off the Senior Day events.
*In the 200 back, Bolanos (1:49.07) took third to give him three third-place finishes over the course of the meet for the Scarlet and Gray.
*Hemmens (20.79) and freshman George Ratiu (20.83) finished as the Rebel leaders in the 50 yard free, with former taking third and the latter coming in fourth.

QUOTABLE: “This was a really special senior meet. The leaders of our team have sacrificed so much to carry us this year, and it was a memorable moment celebrating them today. Hats off to our women, their depth really carried us to the double win this weekend. The men raced particularly well in sprint relays and the distance events. Both squads still have some sharpening to do in the three weeks leading up to Conference, but that’s a fun part of the season we look forward to.” -Head coach Ben Loorz

PRESS RELEASE – HAWAII:

LAS VEGAS, NEV.— The University of Hawai’i swim and dive team capped off its first meet of the season on Friday at Reitz Pool on the campus of UNLV.

The men’s team came away with wins over both UNLV at 200.00 – 153.00 and Wyoming at 256.00 – 97.00, while the women split, picking up a win over Wyoming 196.00 – 154.00 but falling short of UNLV 195.00 – 152.00.

UH will now prepare for the MPSF Championships. Due to COVID-19, the meet’s location has moved to San Luis Obispo, California, on Cal Poly’s campus, and is set for Feb. 17 to the 20th.

Swimming

It was another big day for the men’s team accounting for six first-place finishes, including a win in the 400 free relay, their third relay victory over the two-day event. Led by seniors Franz Adam and Micah Masei, along with junior John Clark and sophomore Tim Masten, the squad touched the wall at 2:59.39.

Both Messi, Masten, and Gallagher notched individual victories earlier in the day, along with sophomore Timothy Gallagher. Messi sped his way to a time of 20.41 in the 50 free, narrowly beating out Masten in second place at 20.56. But Masten later claimed a win in the 100 fly with a final time of 49.64. Gallagher rounded it out, clocking in at 1:46.96, followed by junior Sean Hogan at 1:47.75 in the 200 back. 

The relay team’s success didn’t stop as Clark picked up a first-place finish in the 200 free, with a time of 1:39.03.

Adding to the top flight theme of the day for UH was junior Talon Lindquist, as he closed out the individual events by winning the 400 individual medley. The Kodiak, Alaska native, finished three seconds ahead of the No. 2 spot at 3:58.58, placing him at No. 10 all-time in the UH record book for the event.

On the women’s side, seniors Anna Kotonen and Lucia Lassman played pivotal roles leading the 400 free relay team to a victory and picking up individual top finishes.

Partnered with junior Emma Frey and sophomore Anna Friedrich, the 400 free relay team paced themselves to a finishing time of 3:22.69. The relay victory was the third of the event for the ‘Bows adding to their seasonal goals of having top-tier relay teams.

Kotonen added her third first-place finish of the dual event, touching the wall at 22.89 in the 50 free, while Lassman came in at third. But Lassman stepped up in the 100 fly for her first victory of the event at 53.44.

Diving

On the first day of the dual meet, freshman Mason Williams performed well, claiming a victory in the men’s one-meter, but on Friday, another freshman made their name known.

While freshman Zach Lundgren didn’t win the men’s three-meter dive, he presented a strong showing placing second overall with a score of 305.75. Junior Max Burman followed with a fourth-place finish, tallying a score of 300.75.

For the Rainbow Wahine, it was a repeat of Thursday in terms of the one-meter event’s standings. The day before, in the three-meter freshman Elma Lund and senior Victoria Moretti finished at third and fourth, it was the same today. Lund picked up a score of 259.86, missing the No. 2 spot but six points, with Moretti finishing at 241.30.

PRESS RELEASE – WYOMING:

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Jan. 29, 2021) – Senior Katelyn Blattner earned victories in the 500 freestyle and 200 backstroke on Friday afternoon as the Wyoming men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams closed out its dual season. Both the Cowboys and Cowgirls battled the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine plus the UNLV Rebels at the Buchanan Natatorium in Las Vegas.

In the 200 medley relay, the Cowgirls placed fourth in a season-best time of 1:43.76 with the team of Blattner, Rylie Pilon, Hannah Mclean-Leonard and Kali Franckowiak. The B relay of Emily Giles, Andrea Niemann, Kira Crane and Lainee Jones finished sixth with a time of 1:45.59. For the Cowboys, the team of Max DeYoung, Mitchell Hovis, Reilly Gilbert and Grant Sloan went 1:31.85 for a fifth place spot.

Blattner returned to the pool and came away with the victory in the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:53.55. Sage Morton placed seventh with a time of 5:03.28. Ryan Netzel was the top finisher with a season best time of 4:34.54 to place fourth. Harry Tjaden went a career-best 4:36.59 followed by Daniel Cumnock-Francois who clocked a time of 4:37.79.

In the 50 free, Kira Crane was the top finisher with a season-best time 23.90 to finish in fifth. She was followed by Franckowiak and Mclean-Leonard with marks of 23.94 and 23.97, respectively. Sloan went 21.20 in his race to place eighth while Austin Crump touched in 21.41.

In the 200 backstroke, Blattner followed up her winning performance just one race later with a first place finish in a season-best time of 1:58.60. Niemann touched the wall in 2:06.06 while Giles went 2:07.87. On the men’s side, Andrew Rodriguez clocked a season-best time of 1:52.01 followed by Luke Walker with a career-best 1:52.48.

Pilon posted a season-best time in the 200 breaststroke going 2:20.50 to place fifth. Isabel Rich went 2:22.63 to finish one spot behind. Hannah Linde had season-best time of 2:25.72, while Erin Eccleston went 2:28.04. Hovis finished fifth with a time of 2:08.29 while John Wargin touched the wall in a time of 2:08.80.

In the 100 butterfly, Mclean-Leonard had a strong showing going a season-best 53.78 to place second. Crane went 57.04 and Giles touched in 57.39 to finish fifth and sixth. Tjaden recorded a career-best time of 50.71 to place fourth while Cameron Murphy recorded a time of 52.39.

Jones was the top finisher in the 200 free with a fourth place time of 1:51.75. Franckowiak recorded a career-best time of 1:52.76. Crump was the top finisher in the event with a fourth place time of 1:40.81 while Netzel followed up his 500 free performance with a time of 1:42.08 to finish sixth.

For the Cowgirls, Roxanna Ramirez was the best finisher with a fifth place time of 4:30.87. Eccleston finished in seventh with her time of 4:31.95. Walker was solid in his career-best performance with a time of 4:02.51 and a third place finish.

In the 400 free relay, the team of Carsrud, Franckowiak, Blattner and Jones went 1:36.43 for a fourth place finish. For the Cowboys, Crump, Sloan, Gilbert and DeYoung recorded a seventh place finish with a time of 3:08.15.

On the boards, Melissa Mirafuentes paced the way for the Cowgirls in the 1-meter. She finished first with a season-high score of 297.40. McKenna Houlihan was fifth with a total of 236.10 while Makena Sanger posted a career-best 216.85 and Abigail Zoromski went 213.65. For the Cowboys, Brendan Byrnes led the way with fifth place finish and a score of 289.60. Elijah Chan followed in sixth with his score of 269.00 after six dives, while Juan Gonzalez recorded a mark of 263.25 to finish in eighth.

The Cowboy and Cowgirl diving squads will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 4 at the Air Force Diving Invite.