Feb. 23, 2006
Results
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - For the second straight year the UNLV men made a huge move while the Rebel women have also moved within striking distance of the leaders after the second day of action at the 2006 Mountain West Conference Swimming & Championship, held at Oklahoma City Community College.
The Rebel men, looking to win their second straight conference title, only won one of the four events on the day, but jumped from fifth place to second after posting seven top-eight individual finishes, including taking second, third, and fourth in the 50 free. After 15 events, UNLV has 252 points, just 11 behind first place Utah. BYU is third with 222, Air Force and Wyoming are both tied for fourth with 212, while TCU rounds out the field in sixth place with 184.
The night began with the 500 free and a showdown between the league's top two distance swimmers, UNLV's Johan Claar and Air Force's Chris Knaute. Though Claar won the last time the two met back in January, Knaute came out on top Thursday night, swimming a 4:21.62, while Claar took second in 4:23.95, which is still the second fastest in school history and a NCAA "B" time. Also swimming the 500 free, Matt Morton took 12th in 4:34.21, and was followed by teammates Erik Ringdahl in 13th (4:34.38) and Kyle Tannehill in 14th place (4:35.41).
Tamas Bosnyak led the Rebels in the 200 IM with a fourth-place swim of 1:50.95, after a 1-2-3 Air Force sweep in the event. Also scoring was Devin Phillips in sixth place (1:51.92), Curtis Robinson in eighth (1:54.19), Adam Martinson in ninth (1:52.61), and Magnus Egmar in 15th place (1:54.35).
UNLV then pulled off a 2-3-4 performance in the 50 free. Though Brandon Nelms failed to defend his title from a year ago, he still finished third in 19.90, .01 behind teammate and runner-up Joe Bartoch (19.89), while Richard Hortness took fourth in 20.11. BYU's Brett Allen won the event and 19.76, and had set the new MWC record in the morning prelims with a time of 19.69. All UNLV three swimmers were under NCAA "B" times, while Bartoch's was the fourth-fastest time in school history. John Byers also scored, placing 12th in 20.88. The Rebels then closed out the day's action on the men's side by winning the 200 free relay for the seventh straight time in the seven-year history of the league. Nelms, Bartoch, Hortness, and Byers teamed up to swim a time of 1:19.57, second-fastest time in school history.
UNLV moved into third on the women's side with 202 points, close behind second place BYU (211), but 56 points behind leader Utah (258). Wyoming is fourth with 143, while Colorado State and TCU are tied fifth at 140. New Mexico is seventh (128), San Diego State eighth (77), and Air Force rounds out the field in ninth place (65 points).
Two Rebels scored in the 500 free for the UNLV women, as Lani Seaman swam 5:01.03 for seventh place, while Alison Zick was 15th in 5:06.05. In the 200 IM, Kim Bonney was runner-up by just 0.55, as she swam the third-fastest time ever at UNLV, 2:03.55, while BYU's Angela Goodson took first in 2:03.00. Right behind Bonney was Ana Dangalakova in third at 2:04.54 Bailey Kuestermeyer took seventh (2:06.88), while Norah Vogan was 12th (2:07.46).
Marina Sandback was the highest finisher in the 50 free, swimming a time of 23.41 to place fifth, while Katie Wronn was right behind her in sixth place in 23.66. Jessie Bradshaw also placed, finishing in 23.77 to take 11th. The Rebels' 200 free relay team of Wronn, Bradshaw, Lauren Browning, and Sandback was a close runner-up to Utah, swimming a time of 1:32.96, behind the Utes' time of 1:32.47.
The four-day meet continues tomorrow, and will conclude on Saturday.
