Jan. 26, 2006

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - For the fourth time this season, UNLV freshman Johan Claar was named Mountain West Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week, the conference announced on Wednesday.

A native of Bankeryd, Sweden, Claar won four of five events in helping UNLV to dual meet wins over UC Irvine and Air Force last weekend. Against UC Irvine, he won the 200 free in 1:41.72, before seeing his consecutive win streak snapped at 19 races in the 200 fly, where he placed second in 1:52.53. He followed that with a win in the 500 free in 4:21.27.

In a matchup of the top two distance swimmers in the MWC, Claar held off Air Force's Chris Knaute in the 1650-yard freestyle by four seconds, winning in 15:29.74, the second-fastest time in the league this year. He then followed with a win the 500 free in 4:33.64, out touching Knaute by .04 and was a member of the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay team (3:04.21).

UNLV returns to action on Saturday, at UC Santa Barbara at Noon.