Joyce, Gonzalez But Bow on 2026 at NCAA Championships

ATLANTA (March 21, 2026) – Junior Tara Joyce has the last swim Saturday for the Wyoming Cowgirls at the 2026 NCAA swimming and diving championships.

Head coach Dave Denniston said, “Tara has set the standard in goal setting, establishing a plan for success and a high level of achievement that is a direct reflection of the season she had.”

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He added, “I appreciate that she has shown not only our varsity swimmers but Wyoming swimmers across the state what can be accomplished by someone from Wyoming with a strong drive and executable plan.”

In the final event of the Cowgirl season, Joyce would swim to 50th in the 100-yard Freestyle with a time of 48.96. This would be a Top 3 program time for the school record holder.

“Tara inspires her teammates and coaches in a way that makes everyone around her better, just by doing 'Tara things',” Denniston said.

Joyce joins sophomore Macey Hansen as the only Cowgirls to swim in multiple events at an NCAA Championships in the past 10 years and joins a short list of eight women to ever do so for Wyoming swimming.

“We are so excited for her senior year, where she will do even bigger things in the pool than she’s already accomplished,” said Denniston.

Senior Alicia Gonzalez closed out her Cowgirl career Friday in the 3-Meter dive at the NCAA Championships.

Head diving coach Mark Murdock said, “As Ali finished her diving career today, I saw a happy person and athlete. She put in the long hours, took hard hits and fought to be here at NCAAs.”

In the 3-Meter diving prelims, Gonzalez would finish in 47th with a score of 220.35.

“It is the next level of competition, and she wanted to finish stronger, but I know she’s proud of her accomplishments, and so am I,” said Murdock.

Gonzalez became the first Wyoming diver to compete at NCAAs since 2022. At the championship meet this season, she dove in the 1- and 3-Meter dives, the first to compete in the 1-Meter since 2017.

UP NEXT

Cowboys Alex Metzler, Simon Casey and Jackson Kogler will travel to Atlanta for the NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships set for March 25-28.

Stay up to date with Wyoming swim and dive by following @wyo_swimdive on X and @wyo_swim_dive on Instagram.

From Bison to Triceratops - All of Wyoming's Official Things

Every state in our nation has chosen things that represent the state in one way or another to be official state things. Like a flower, or animal. Wyoming is no different.

The Equality State, or the Cowboy State, depending on which state slogan you want to go with, has a state flower. But did you know we also have a state tree and a state fish? Yes, we even have a state code.

To be an official thing, a member of the state legislature must write and submit a bill to the legislature declaring that a thing will be the official state thing. Then the legislature votes to pass the bill, or not, if it passes, the governor signs the bill into law and we have a new official state thing.

Here is what we have so far, all of Wyoming's official things. Now you can win big on Wyo Trivia Night if that's a thing that exists.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

- From Bison to Triceratops - All of Wyoming's Official Things

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Filed Under: Wyoming swimming

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