HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – Junior
Panos Bolanos won the 200 IM title as part of six medals for UNLV men's swimming and diving Thursday as the Rebels took over the team lead on the second day of the WAC Championships at CRWC Natatorium.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Bolanos became the first Rebel swimmer to win a conference title in the event in 22 years after recording the second fastest time in program history with an NCAA 'B' cut of 1:46.28. The Scarlet and Gray's last swimmer to win an individual league title in the event was David Schick in 2000.
After beginning the day at fourth in the team standings, the Rebels moved into first place with 300 points following their high-scoring finals session. They pulled ahead of the current second-place team Wyoming (253 points) by 47 points, as well as Air Force (248 points) in third and California Baptist (219 points) now in fourth.
THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*Opening the medal count to start the night, the UNLV quartet of sophomore
George Ratiu with seniors
Casey McEuen,
Richard Szilagyi and
Reece Hemmens battled to the very end in a tight 200 free relay that saw them just short of the gold medal by .15 seconds for the second-place finish.
*In the 500 free, junior
Chris Mykkanen swam a personal-best time and NCAA 'B' cut of 4:17.42* in the 500 free to earn the silver medal. His time, too, marked the second-fastest swim by a Rebel in the event.
*Mykkanen was followed by two of his Rebel counterparts in the 500 free final, with junior Cam Castro (4:22.93*) taking the bronze medal on another NCAA 'B' qualifying time and freshman
Andrew Navarro (4:26.95) placing sixth.
*Joining Bolanos on the podium in the 200 IM with an NCAA 'B' cut of his own, freshman
Dominik Bujak brought home the bronze medal. His time of 1:46.93 also moved him into fourth all-time on the UNLV record list.
*Seniors
Ivan Zhukau and
Jack Binder provided another major boost to the Scarlet and Gray's point tally in the 200 IM consolation final. The former won the heat and the latter finished third, which placed the duo at ninth and 11th overall, respectively.
*Landing the Rebels' sixth medal of the day, Ratiu enjoyed a silver-medal performance in the 50 free. His NCAA 'B' cut time of 19.51 seconds tied for the third fastest in program history, which improved upon his 19.62-second effort in the morning prelims session.
*Tacking onto the Scarlet and Gray's point total in the 1-meter diving finals, freshman Dima Tereschenko (271.50) finished sixth while sophomore
Jamie Spilchak (251.65) was just two spots behind in eighth. Subsequently, Tereschenko etched his name into the fifth spot among the Rebels' all-time highest scores.
*To close out the day filled with near school records, UNLV's 200 medley relay squad - consisting of Bolanos, freshman
Adnan Beji, Ratiu and
Reece Hemmens - broke through with a WAC record in the time trials on a new program-best time of 1:25.09. Their record time came just one day after seniors
Richard Szilagyi and
Sam Willstrop alongside Ratiu and Hemmens (1:25.17) gave the Rebels a school record for the second time this season.
UP NEXT: The Rebel men will seek to improve upon their lead in the team standings on the third day of the WAC Championships on Friday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. PT/10:30 a.m. CT and finals again taking place at 4 p.m. PT/6 p.m. CT.
2022 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Thursday, February 24
Second Day Results
Team Scoring
1. UNLV - 300
2. Wyoming - 253
3. Air Force - 248
4. California Baptist - 219
5. Grand Canyon - 209
6. Seattle - 56
Top-8 Finishes
200 IM: 1st place - 1:46.28* (
Panos Bolanos);
3rd place - 1:46.93 (
Dominik Bujak).
500 Free: 2nd place - 4:17.42 (
Chris Mykkanen);
3rd place - 4:22.93 (Cam Castro)
50 Free: 2nd place - 19.52 (
George Ratiu)
200 Free Relay: 2nd place - 1:18.49 (
George Ratiu,
Casey McEuen,
Richard Szilagyi,
Reece Hemmens)
^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score
