LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – With three more event wins and 16 top-eight finishes, UNLV men's swimming and diving increased its lead in the team standings on day three of the 2021 WAC Swimming and Diving Championships at Jim Reitz Pool and Northern Arizona's Aquatics Complex. The Rebels ended the night with 626 points to extend their advantage over second-place Air Force by 185 points.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
The Rebels received a boost in the 100 fly from senior Bryan Chavez, who pulled ahead just enough on the final touch for a close finish just .05 seconds in front of second place to grab the WAC gold. The victory by Chavez was UNLV's first 100 fly conference title since 2016 when Rebel alum Pasha Semochkin won the same race.
 
Junior Sam Willstrop brought the WAC title in the 100 breast back to Las Vegas for the first time in eight years with his victory behind the Rebels' third-fastest time in program history and the fastest ever by a UNLV swimmer in a conference final.  Willstrop's win was the first for UNLV in the event since alum David Szele finished atop the podium in 2013.
 
UNLV stayed unblemished in four championship relay races, thus far, to put the cap on the evening's races, as sophomore Panos Bolanos, Willstrop, Chavez and junior Reece Hemmens (3:10.99) tacked on another gold medal in the 400 medley relay with a nice 1.47-second lead ahead of second-place finisher Air Force (3:12.46). The victory ended a six-year hiatus without the Rebels name tied to the WAC's 400 medley relay title, which last came in the squad's 2015 conference championship year.

THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*Chavez's time of 47.34 in his 100 fly victory opened the string of five NCAA 'B' qualifying marks on the night for the Rebels.
*After missing out on the 2020 WAC Championship, Willstrop's 100 breast time (53.26) headlined two NCAA 'B' cuts and three top-five finishes by UNLV in the event. Junior Jack Binder checked in at fourth with the other Rebel NCAA 'B' mark, while senior Sean Gage followed in fifth to add his highest-ever finish at the conference meet.
* UNLV landed three other swimmers inside the top-eight in the 100 fly for their highest-scoring event of the night. Freshman George Ratiu (47.56) came within a quarter of a second of Chavez's top spot in third place, junior Casey McEuen (47.63) finished fourth with a personal best and junior Michal Cukanow (48.76) touched in seventh to round out the A final for the Rebels.
*In the 200 free race, sophomore Christopher Mykkanen (1:35.72) outpaced Air Force's eventual winner on the final 50 yards before coming away with the silver medal on UNLV's second NCAA 'B' cut in the finals session. The Rebel sophomore shaved 1.12 seconds off his previous career-best mark and pushed himself all the way up to sixth on the program's all-time record list.
*Piling onto the second-place finish from Mykannen, Vuk Celic (1:37.68) finished fourth, sophomore Cameron Castro (1:37.84) reached the wall in fifth and freshman Cooper Kiel (1:38.44) came in eighth to give the Rebels four top-eight finishers for the second consecutive race.
*Sophomore Panos Bolanos rounded out the Rebels' slew of NCAA 'B' cuts among the evening's A finals, as he placed second in the 100 back with a time of 47.35. He was joined two spots back by his senior counterpart Richard Szilagyi (48.33) in fourth.
*Sophomore Steven Butler won the 'B' final of the 100 fly with a time of 48.63, taking ninth in the overall event standings to punch in one of two UNLV victories in consolation races on the night.
*Representing the Rebels in the 400 IM A finals, junior Ivan Zhukov posted a fifth-place finish with a time of 3:53.04. UNLV also received a ninth-place overall effort and B final win in the event from freshman McKay Mickelson (3:56.94) after the newcomer recorded a 3.74-second drop from his prelim time earlier in the day.
*Leading the way for UNLV on the springboard, Jesse Cawley recorded his second top-eight finish in two days in a sixth-place effort (280.80) in the men's 3-meter diving final.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS:  The Rebels will seek to hang on to their lead and secure their first title in six years on the concluding night of WAC Championship competition Saturday. The swimming events will begin at 11 am, with the 1650 free finals starting at 4:20 and all other event finals at 6 pm. UNLV's divers will wrap up action in the diving competition with prelims scheduled for 10:30 am and finals at 6:30 pm once again.