Wyoming Women, Air Force Men Earn Victories In Split Dual

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 15, 2021) – The Wyoming men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened up the weekend with a split against the Air Force Falcons on Friday night. The Cowgirls earned a decisive 145-79 win while the men dropped its contest 133-86.

In the 400 medley relay, the team of Katelyn Blattner, Rylie Pilon, Hannah Mclean-Leonard and Lainee Jones took first in a time of 3:46.74, while the team of Emily Giles, Isabel Rich, Kira Crane and Sani Carsrud finished in third with a mark of 3:53.70.

In the 1650 freestyle, Roxanna Ramirez touched the wall in a time of 17:43.31 to finish first. Sage Morton followed in second with a career-best time of 17.50.44, while Maggie Clerkin had a time of 18:06.08. For the men, Ryan Netzel finished first with a time of 16:25.35. Danny Cumnock-Francois posted a mark of 16:28.38 followed by Andrew Columbus with a career-best of 16.43.27.

Blattner had a top time of 1:52.87. Britt Nichols swam a time of 1:55.05 while Carsrud touched the wall in 1:56.45. Olivia Staver touched the wall in 1:59.40. Austin Crump had the top time for the men in 1:42.02 followed by Harry Tjaden in a career-best 1:43.89. Miller Browne went 1:44.94 followed by freshman Reilly Gilbert with a mark of 1:45.38.

The 50 freestyle had Kali Franckowiak going with a career-time of 24.15 to place second. Crane placed in the following spot with her time of 24.20. For the men, Max DeYoung went with a time of 21.26 for a fourth place spot, while Grant Sloan recorded a mark of 21.29.

Mclean-Leonard had the top time in the 200 IM with a mark of 2:07.62. Giles went 2:09.72 followed by Eccelston in 2:09.83. The men were led by senior Mitchell Hovis with his time of 1:55.75 to place third. Luke Walker touched the wall in 2:00.04 while Rodriguez went 2:03.11.

On the boards, Melissa Mirafuentes took first in the platform with her season-best score of 242.40. Abigail Zoromski was fourth with a mark of 187.05 and McKenna Houlihan posted a score of 175.88. For the men, the top finisher was Brendan Byrnes who placed second with a score of 276.38. Elijah Chan had a score of 259.88 after six dives, followed by Juan Gonzalez with a mark off 244.35.

Ramirez scored points in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:10.67 and was followed by Isabel Rich who touched the wall in 2:11.22. Cameron Murphy was the best finish for the Cowboys with a time of 1:48.93 followed by Harry Tjaden in 1:55.30.

Jones took the 100 freestyle title home with her time of 51.25. Franckowiak went a time of 51.95 to place third. Crump finished third with his time of 47.17 followed by Gilbert and Jakob Borrman with times of 47.31 and 47.98, respectively.

In the 200 backstroke, Giles was the top finisher in a time of 2:08.35 followed by Niemann in 2:09.21. Eccleston went 2:12.56 and Claire Becker recorded a mark of 2:21.78. Browne swam a top time of 1:54.67 to place second. Luke Walker and Andrew Rodriguez went 1:56.30 and 2:09.50.

Britt Nichols placed on top of the podium in the 500 freestyle with her time of 5:08.51. Morton paced her way to a third place spot with a time of 5:14.58 and Emma Mehl posted a mark of 5:18.53. Daniel Cumnock-Francois led the men with a time of 4:47.99 followed by Diaz in a time of 4:49.52.

Rich recorded her time of 2:23.30 in the 200 breaststroke to earn points on the Cowgirl side. Pilon recorded a time of 2:24.13 for a second place spot. Hovis finished in second with his time of 2:03.68 followed by Caleb Worshek and John Wargin with marks of 2:06.81 and 2:10.83.

In the final event of the day, Blattner, Franckowiak, Carsrud and Jones won the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:27.91. For the men, Crump, Sloan, Netzel and DeYoung went 3:07.01 for a second place spot.

Both squads will be back in the pool tomorrow in a tri-dual with the Falcons and BYU. The men are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. MT followed by the women at 12 p.m. at the Cadet Natatorium.

Courtesy: Air Force Athletics

Men’s Recap

USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy men’s swimming and diving team rolled to a comfortable dual win over Western Athletic Conference rival Wyoming, 145-79, Friday evening, Jan. 15, inside the Cadet Natatorium.

Before the start of the meet, the Falcons received their championship rings from winning the 2020 WAC Championships. The ceremony set the tone for the meet, as AF won 11 of the 12 events contested on the evening, including two 1-2-3 finishes.

A trio of Falcons led the way with two event wins each, as juniors Adam Grimm won the 200 free and, 500 free, classmate Corey Shepard won the 50 and 100 freestyles, and freshman Joseph Moore won both the 200 IM and 200 back.

The other three individual event wins came from junior Andrew Limpert in the 200 fly, sophomore Tory Bartlett in the 200 breast, and senior Cole Armagost in the platform dive. Armagost’s score on the platform, 315.60, was 39.22 points ahead of second place and enough for an NCAA Zone E qualifying score.

Finally, the other two event wins for AF came in the relays. The squad of Moore, Bartlett, Limpert, and junior Matthew Lattin took gold in the 400 medley, while the team of Shepard, Limpert, freshman Jacob Bulseco, and senior Erik Orr, took first in the 400 free relay.

AF will get back into action tomorrow, Jan. 16, for a tri-meet with Wyoming and BYU. Action from the Cadet Natatorium is set to begin at 9 a.m. MT with a Senior Day ceremony to take place during the first diving break.

Women’s Recap

USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy women’s swimming and diving team fell in a Mountain West dual to Wyoming, 145-79, Friday evening, Jan. 15, at the Cadet Natatorium.

The two teams faced each other in 12 events, with Air Force winning three of them. The biggest highlight came in the 200 back, as the Falcons went 1-2-3. Sophomore Shea Burcham was first, with seniors Kylie Stronko and Lexie DuChene in second and third.

Sophomore Sefilina Maile continued to dominate in the 50 free, as she took gold with a time of 23.79. The third event win came from freshman Shayla Markle in the 200 fly. It was her first event win of her career.

In the other nine events, AF finished in the top-three in six of them, including four runner-up finishes. On the diving board, only the platform was contested. Junior Cristin von Schlag led the Falcons with a second place finish.

AF will be right back in action tomorrow, Jan. 16, for a tri-meet with Wyoming and BYU. Action from the Cadet Natatorium is set for noon MT.