Wyoming Wins Historic Duals over Denver, Colorado Mesa

DENVER – Wyoming swimming & diving Saturday finished ahead of Denver and Colorado Mesa on both the men’s and women’s side to start the new year.

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Cowgirls would beat Denver, 157-143, and Colorado Mesa, 176-124. The Cowboys won both of their duals as well, with scores of 177-123 over Denver and 159-141 over Colorado Mesa.

“Today was one of the most memorable road wins our program has ever had,” said head coach Dave Denniston. “We were victorious against DU and Mesa for both the men and women, the first for the men over DU in over 10 years.

He added, “Everyone contributed in making the day a success, including double winners Alicia Gonzalez, Macey Hansen and Tara Joyce, as well as two pool records.”

COWGIRLS
The day began on the boards with two victories from senior Alicia Gonzalez. She would finish with a final score of 288.20 in the 1-meter and 336.75 in the 3-meter.

In the women’s 200-yard Free Relay, the Cowgirl team of junior Tara Joyce, sophomore Taylor Craft, junior Taylor Cureton and freshman Raiden Harris won by less than a tenth-of-a-second at 1:40.43.

Sophomore Macey Hansen led the way in the 1,000-yard Free, touching the wall first with a time of 10:05.95. Freshman Isabelle Henderson shortly followed in fourth at 10:26.13. Hansen would close her day by winning the 500-yard Free with a time of 4:54.73.

Joyce continued her winning ways with a first-place finish in the 200-yard Free. She touched the wall at 1:48.20 while sophomore Avery True took third with a time of 1:51.25.

Junior Tessa Bendokas led the Cowgirls in the 100-yard Back with her third-place time of 56.02.

Craft was the top Cowgirl finisher in the 100-yard Breast. She would place second overall with a time of 1:03.00.

In the 50-yard Free, Harris won in a sprint with her time of 23.04, well ahead of the rest of the field. She would also take second in the 200-yard Back with a time of 2:01.87. Joyce picked up her third win in the 100-yard Free as the only competitor under 50 seconds at 49.83.

Cowgirls closed the pool with a win in the 400-yard Free Relay. The team crew of Harris, senior Veronika Ozimek, True and Joyce finished at 3:20.25, a DU pool record.

COWBOYS
Cowboys began their historic victory with sophomore Jonah Mann finishing third in the 1-meter dive with a score of 297.10 while sophomore Kael Kropf led Wyoming in the 3-meter with a fourth-place score of 314.40.

Cowboy swimmers opened with a second-place finish in the 200-yard Free Relay. The squad of junior Simon Casey, sophomore Joe Morales, sophomore Gray Sisco and freshman Jack Boysen swam a time of 1:28.54.

Wyoming completed the 1,000-yard Free sweep when sophomore Isaac Lee won the event with a time of 9:17.65, a new pool record. Senior and semester newcomer Alexander Metzler came in second when he swam a time of 9:19.26.

In the 200-yard Free, Casey was the top Wyoming finisher with his time of 1:36.95 for second overall. He would later win the 200-yard Back, his staple, with a time of 1:47.12.

Freshman Jackson Kogler won the men’s 100-yard Back when he touched the wall at 47.93, after winning the MPSF Male Athlete of the Week award in his last time out. He also placed second in the 200-yard Back at 1:47.83 and 400-yard IM at 3:57.90.

In the 200-yard Fly, junior Adam Pannell took second when he finished at 1:48.33.
Sophomore Luke O’Connor followed up Harris’ win in the 50-yard Free with a win of his own. HE would finish at 20.12, just 0.06 off second place.

In the men’s 200-yard Breast, junior Griffith Orloff took the win, touching the wall at 1:58.40.

Wyoming went 1-2-3 in the men’s 500-yard Free with Metzler, Lee and junior Derek Long. They would finish with times of 4:28.20, 4:31.23 and 4:34.67, respectively.
Cowboys would finish their day in the pool with a second-place finish in the 400-yard Free Relay by Boysen, Casey, senior Caleb Ozenne and O’Connor at 2:57.95.

UP NEXT
Cowgirls will host Washington State at Laramie High School for the final home meet of the season next Saturday, Jan. 24. Stay up to date with Wyoming swim and dive by following @wyo_swimdive on X and @wyo_swim_dive on Instagram.