A pair of furious road comebacks from Wyoming led to different ends in Tempe: the Cowgirls roared back to beat Arizona State, while the host Sun Devils held off the Cowboys charge.
Women’s Meet
The Wyoming women got a big meet-opening win in the 200 medley relay at 1:42.31, but Arizona State rattled off three straight individual wins to grab an early lead at home.
Most devastating in there was a 200 free where the Sun Devils went 1-2-3 behind a 1:50.83 from Indira Ceranic. Anna Olasz won the 1000 free in 10:14.31, and Ingibjorg Jonsdottir went 55.12 to take the 100 back in that stretch.
But Wyoming hung around through the middle of the meet, getting a breaststroke sweep from Maria Harutjunjan (1:03.38 in the 100, 2:16.26 in the 200) to stay within striking range.
The big blow came in the 100 fly, where Wyoming clocked a 1-2-3 finish of its own behind Molly Coonce‘s 55.25. (Coonce also won the 200 fly earlier in the meet in 2:03.96).
After the diving break, Emma Dow won the 400 IM for Wyoming, holding off ASU’s Kallyn Barkey to win 4:28.04 to 4:29.13 and all but seal the meet for the visitors. ASU managed to win the 400 free relay, but the damage was done, as Wyoming took second and capped a 152-146 victory.
Men’s Meet
Arizona State also jumped out to a big lead on the men’s side, winning the first four events in quick succession.
Sprinter Richard Bohus was key to that run, leading off the winning 200 medley relay in 22.79 and then winning the100 back with a 49.15 as ASU went 1-2. Bohus would also win the 100 free later in the meet at 44.78.
Also doubling for Arizona State was Barkley Perry, who took the 200 free in 1:39.51 to keep that early run going. Perry came back to win the 200 backstroke near the end of the meet, blowing out the field in 1:47.90.
The only thing Wyoming could get going early was Gabriel Rooker‘s breaststroke. The junior went 54.52 to earn Wyoming’s first win of the day, and one of just two before the first diving break. The other came from Bryce Carter in the 50 free (20.28).
But Wyoming started to roll in the second half. Rooker completed a breaststroke sweep with a 2:00.13 in the 200 to set off a late run that included a double from Ryan Nelson. Nelson followed up Rooker’s 200 breast win with a victory in the 500 free (4:33.61) and then took the 400 IM (3:57.11) near the end in a stellar 1-2-3 finish for the Cowboys.
Still, the comeback was too little, too late, as Arizona State had already clinched the meet heading into that IM race. It turned out to be a good thing for the home team, too, as Arizona State’s 400 free relay was disqualified for a false start, giving Wyoming what would have been a game-changing 1-2 finish in the event. That only served to bring the final score slightly closer at the end, though, with ASU winning 152.5-145.5.
