Cougars Three-peat as MWC Champs
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The BYU men's and women's swimming and diving teams won their third consecutive MWC Championship in Oklahoma City, OK. Saturday. The men scored a conference record 931.5 points while the women tallied 601 points, edging UNLV by 26 points.
The men's divers placed six of the top eight finalists in the platform dive. Junior Justin Wilcock won the event followed by senior Viraj Patil in second and Aaron Russell in third. Wilcock completed his hat trick by winning the 1- and 3-meter, and platform finals in this year's championship. Wilcock was honored as the MWC Diver of the Year and Keith Russell was named MWC Men's Diving Coach of the Year.
The Cougar swimmers sealed their third straight crown by placing five of the eight finishers in the men's 100 freestule finals. Jeff Mason placed second with his NCAA provisional qualifying time of 44.81. Tim Powers was named MWC Coach of the Year.
The 100 backstroke also placed five of the eight finals slots led by second place Christopher Johnson's time of 49.35. Johnson also placed second in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:49.09, followed by teammate Gary Tan in third. Sophomore Adam Ware placed second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:02.95.
The women's team took the lead from UNLV and never relinquished it when they swept the first four spots in the the 200 breaststroke. Sophomore Tamber Covington won the field with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 2:17.09. Nikki Xanthos (formerly Tadlock) finished second with an NCAA provisional time as well. Teammates Amanda Grant and Jamie Lambert finished third and fourth respectively.
Captain Ashlee Rumfallow finished second in the 200 backstroke while teammate Nichole Burrows placed fifth.
For complete results, go the Mountain West Homepage at: www.themwc.comWomen's Team Scores
Place School Points
1 BYU 601
2 UNLV 575
3 CSU 565
4 UTAH 462
5 AFA 444
6 UNM 400
7 SDSU 362
8 WYO 229
Men's Team Scores
Place School Points
1 BYU 931
2 UNLV 750
3 AFA 618
4 WYO 424
5 UTAH 297
