Wyoming registers a total of seven victories on the day

DENVER, Colo., -- The University of Wyoming swimming & diving team opened the regular season Saturday at the DU Relays inside El Pomar Natatorium. The Cowgirls finished second with 198 points, while the Cowboys took third, accumulating 168 points.

More than the final score, head coach Dave Denniston and his staff wanted to see how their team, especially their younger swimmers, handled a meet setting away from Laramie. The returns were positive.

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“The highlight of this meet for us was seeing a lot of the young swimmers do so well,” Denniston said. “Everybody did a really nice job and raced hard. This is a meet that’s exhausting because it’s a lot of races back to back to back. The team looked really strong, really fit, and we got a lot of compliments with how our team looked.”

Wyoming registered a total of seven victories on the day. Five Cowgirl teams topped the field, while a pair of Cowboy teams took first.

Wyoming’s women divers got on the board before any of the swimming took place and staked the Cowgirls to an early advantage. Both the 1- and 3-meter teams – comprised of Natalie Six, Nettie Knapton and Alicia Gonzalez – won their respective team events.

The women’s 300-yard breaststroke relay marked the first victory in the pool for Wyoming. The collection of Sydney McKenzie, Carly Palmer and Lauren Swartz recorded a time of 3:15.39.

The 500-yard crescendo relay team gave the Cowgirls’ their second victory of the day. The team of Mikayla Moore, Rachael Horne, Kali Franckowiak and Palmer clocked in at 4:34.23.

The 400-yard individual medley relay capped the winning for the Cowgirls. The team of Horne, McKenzie, Palmer and Emily Giles logged a time of 3:58.63.

The men’s 300-yard butterfly relay team represented the Cowboys’ first win of the day. The team of Reilly Gilbert, Gavin Smith and Harry Tjaden boasted a time of 2:31.27.

The 500-yard crescendo relay team made it two wins for the Cowboys. Grant Sloan, Smith, Tjaden and Quinn Cynor registered a time of 4:01.96.

Wyoming returns to Laramie and begins the dual-meet season Thursday. The women’s team hosts New Mexico Thursday and Friday at Corbett Pool. Thursday’s action begins at 3 p.m.