Cowgirls win two of three duals at Rocky Mountain Invitational  

* University of Wyoming media relations release

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Wyoming swimming & diving team completed competition at the Rocky Mountain Invitational on Saturday at Air Force. The women won two of the three duals.

“The men and women did a much better job racing (Saturday),” head coach Dave Denniston said. “We hadn’t raced in a real meet, as a team, since conference in February. There were a lot of lessons, knocking the rust off of Friday, but we responded really well today.”

The Cowgirls edged Denver University 179.5-173.5 and downed Air Force by a final tally of 192-161. LSU’s women’s team got the better of Wyoming 250-103.

The Cowboys went 0-3. They fell to Air Force 188-165, dropped a 187.5-165.5 decision to Denver and lost to LSU, 262-91.

“It was nice to see our women beat DU and Air Force,” Denniston said. “Our men raced with a lot of fight, and I believe we have some spectacular meets ahead of us.”

Wyoming had numerous top-three finishes. That distinguished list starts with fifth-year senior Katelyn Blattner who won a race and placed second in three different events.

Blattner won the 500-yard freestyle, boasting a time of 5:03.56. Sophomore teammate Sage Morton placed third in the same race after recording a time of 5:12.40.

Blattner placed runner-up in the 200-yard backstroke, recording a time of 2:04.87. Blattner also took second in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:53.66, while senior Lainee Jones wasn’t far behind, taking third with a time of 1:54.59.

Blattner and Jones teamed up with sophomores Carly Palmer and Kali Franckowiak in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet took third, finishing in a time of 3:30.39.

Junior Melissa Mirafuentes enjoyed a successful day in the diving well. She won the platform competition, accumulating 292.20 points. Mirafuentes finished fourth in both the 3- and 1-meter competitions, scoring 303.65 and 279.85 points, respectively.

Fellow diver, senior McKenna Houlihan, took fifth in the 1-meter event with 235.85 points. Both Mirafuentes and Houlihan hit scores needed to advance to the zone meet in the spring.

Sophomore Isabel Rich placed runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke, boasting a time of 2:24.72. Freshman Caitlyn Groff finished third in the 400 IM, registering a time of 4:43.55, and junior Roxy Ramirez took third in the 1,000-yard freestyle, boasting a time of 10:48.10.

Wyoming’s 200-yard freestyle relay – comprised of freshman Lauren Swartz, senior Kira Crane, Franckowiak and senior Sani Carsrud – took runner-up with a time of 1:35.80.

Senior Ryan Netzel led the way for men’s team. He won the 1,000-yard freestyle, boasting a time of 9:54.74, and also finished runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle, logging a time of 4:41.43.

Senior Grant Sloan took third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.82.

Sophomore Juan Gonzalez paced the diving team. He finished third in platform with a final tally of 271.75. He also placed fifth in 1-meter competition with a score of 275.15.

Wyoming returns home and hosts a pair of meets in a little over a week’s time. The Cowgirls host Northern Colorado Nov. 4, while both teams host Colorado State and Colorado Mesa on Nov. 5. Both meets will be held at Laramie High School.

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