Friday, February 24
Edinburg, TX
All Day
University of Nevada Las Vegas
at
WAC Championships
2/24/2023 11:01:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
UNLV increases its lead in first place to 170.5 on third day of the conference meet
PHARR, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's swimming and diving team's three gold medals and three new records highlighted the squad's efforts during Friday's WAC Championship finals at the City of Pharr Natatorium.Â
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:Â
At the end of the nightcap, the Rebels' 400 medley relay team brought home gold with both a WAC Championship meet and school record of 3:07.45. The quartet of senior Panos Bolanos (46.15), junior Adnen Beji (51.60), freshman Charley Page-Jones (46.98) and super senior Reece Hemmens (42.72) shaved just over a second off of last year's program-best mark (3:08.46).
After setting the new program record in 100 breast (52.33) during prelims, Beji broke his own program record with a 52.14 to put the WAC individual title into the hands of a UNLV swimmer for the third straight season. That time currently ranks him inside the top-40 in the country this season.
In the 100 back race of his career at the conference meet, Bolanos won gold for the second consecutive year with the other Scarlet & Gray school record and another 'B' cut time of 45.80. Additionally, he became the first Rebel to swim under 46 seconds, earned the program's first 100 back title repeat since 2015 and topped former Rebel Henrique Machado's eight-year-old program record (46.39) by nearly six-tenths of a second.
Behind an outing with top-8 finishes across in every race, the Rebels opened up a 170.5 point lead in first place (586 points) ahead of Grand Canyon (415.5 points) in second place. Rounding out the team standings are California Baptist in third (382 points), Wyoming (370.5 points) in fourth, Air Force in fifth (350 points) and Seattle in sixth (131 points).
THE RUNDOWN - MEN:
*Leading off the night with NCAA 'B' cuts in the 400 IM, sophomores Mike Breitbart (3:49.72) and Dominik Bujak (3:50.21) finished within a half a second of each other for the respective silver and bronze medals in the event. With a drop of more than one-quarter of a second from his prelims time, Breitbart cracked the program's all-time top-5 chart in fourth with his first sub-3:50 swim.
*The momentum carried over into the 100 fly race, which saw freshman Charley Page-Jones fly under 47 seconds for the first time for the silver-medal finish and NCAA 'B' cut of 46.96. The swim gave him the sixth fastest time in the UNLV record book. Joining their Rebel teammate in the event's 'A' final, senior Steven Butler took fourth with a lifetime best and a 'B' cut of his own (47.13), while sophomore Bryson Huey placed sixth (47.63).
*Junior George Ratiu won the 'B' final of the 100 fly, logging a 47.59 on the clock.
*The Rebel duo of freshman Kris Matuszewski (1:35.49) and senior Cam Castro (1:36.83) reeled in fourth-place and fifth-place finishes, respectively, in the 200 free 'A' final. With his NCAA 'B' cut time, Matuszewski claimed the sixth-best mark on the Scarlet & Gray all-time record chart.
*Adding to the Scarlet & Gray top-8 finishes in the 400 IM, junior McKay Mickelson (3:54.38) and freshman Ian Belflower (3:56.53) ended up taking seventh and eighth, respectively.
*Wrapping up the second of his two 'A' finals on a busy evening, Huey competed in the 100 back and provided an eighth-place finish (50.41).
UP NEXT: The Rebel men will look ahead to Championship Saturday with prelims scheduled for 8:30 a.m. PT and finals set for 4 p.m. PT.
2023 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
The City of Pharr Natatorium
Pharr, Texas
Friday, February 24
Third Day Results
Team Scoring
1. UNLV - 586
2. Grand Canyon - 415.5
3. California Baptist - 382
4 Wyoming - 370.5
5. Air Force - 350
6. Seattle - 131
Top-8 Finishes
400 IM: 2nd place - 3:49.72* (Mike Breitbart); 3rd place -Â 3:50.21* (Dominik Bujak); 7th place - 3:54.38 (McKay Mickelson)
100 Fly: 2nd place - 46.96* (Charley Page-Jones); 4th place - 47.13* (Steven Butler) 6th place - 47.66 (Bryson Huey)
200 Free: 4th place - 1:35.49 (Kris Matuszewski); 6th place - 1:36.83 (Cam Castro)
100 Breast: 1st place - 52.14* (Adnen Beji)
100 Back: 1st place - 45.80* (Panos Bolanos); 8th place - Bryson Huey (50.41)
400 Medley Relay - 1st place - 3:07.45* (Bolanos, Beji, Page-Jones, Hemmens)
^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:Â
At the end of the nightcap, the Rebels' 400 medley relay team brought home gold with both a WAC Championship meet and school record of 3:07.45. The quartet of senior Panos Bolanos (46.15), junior Adnen Beji (51.60), freshman Charley Page-Jones (46.98) and super senior Reece Hemmens (42.72) shaved just over a second off of last year's program-best mark (3:08.46).
After setting the new program record in 100 breast (52.33) during prelims, Beji broke his own program record with a 52.14 to put the WAC individual title into the hands of a UNLV swimmer for the third straight season. That time currently ranks him inside the top-40 in the country this season.
In the 100 back race of his career at the conference meet, Bolanos won gold for the second consecutive year with the other Scarlet & Gray school record and another 'B' cut time of 45.80. Additionally, he became the first Rebel to swim under 46 seconds, earned the program's first 100 back title repeat since 2015 and topped former Rebel Henrique Machado's eight-year-old program record (46.39) by nearly six-tenths of a second.
Behind an outing with top-8 finishes across in every race, the Rebels opened up a 170.5 point lead in first place (586 points) ahead of Grand Canyon (415.5 points) in second place. Rounding out the team standings are California Baptist in third (382 points), Wyoming (370.5 points) in fourth, Air Force in fifth (350 points) and Seattle in sixth (131 points).
THE RUNDOWN - MEN:
*Leading off the night with NCAA 'B' cuts in the 400 IM, sophomores Mike Breitbart (3:49.72) and Dominik Bujak (3:50.21) finished within a half a second of each other for the respective silver and bronze medals in the event. With a drop of more than one-quarter of a second from his prelims time, Breitbart cracked the program's all-time top-5 chart in fourth with his first sub-3:50 swim.
*The momentum carried over into the 100 fly race, which saw freshman Charley Page-Jones fly under 47 seconds for the first time for the silver-medal finish and NCAA 'B' cut of 46.96. The swim gave him the sixth fastest time in the UNLV record book. Joining their Rebel teammate in the event's 'A' final, senior Steven Butler took fourth with a lifetime best and a 'B' cut of his own (47.13), while sophomore Bryson Huey placed sixth (47.63).
*Junior George Ratiu won the 'B' final of the 100 fly, logging a 47.59 on the clock.
*The Rebel duo of freshman Kris Matuszewski (1:35.49) and senior Cam Castro (1:36.83) reeled in fourth-place and fifth-place finishes, respectively, in the 200 free 'A' final. With his NCAA 'B' cut time, Matuszewski claimed the sixth-best mark on the Scarlet & Gray all-time record chart.
*Adding to the Scarlet & Gray top-8 finishes in the 400 IM, junior McKay Mickelson (3:54.38) and freshman Ian Belflower (3:56.53) ended up taking seventh and eighth, respectively.
*Wrapping up the second of his two 'A' finals on a busy evening, Huey competed in the 100 back and provided an eighth-place finish (50.41).
UP NEXT: The Rebel men will look ahead to Championship Saturday with prelims scheduled for 8:30 a.m. PT and finals set for 4 p.m. PT.
2023 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
The City of Pharr Natatorium
Pharr, Texas
Friday, February 24
Third Day Results
Team Scoring
1. UNLV - 586
2. Grand Canyon - 415.5
3. California Baptist - 382
4 Wyoming - 370.5
5. Air Force - 350
6. Seattle - 131
Top-8 Finishes
400 IM: 2nd place - 3:49.72* (Mike Breitbart); 3rd place -Â 3:50.21* (Dominik Bujak); 7th place - 3:54.38 (McKay Mickelson)
100 Fly: 2nd place - 46.96* (Charley Page-Jones); 4th place - 47.13* (Steven Butler) 6th place - 47.66 (Bryson Huey)
200 Free: 4th place - 1:35.49 (Kris Matuszewski); 6th place - 1:36.83 (Cam Castro)
100 Breast: 1st place - 52.14* (Adnen Beji)
100 Back: 1st place - 45.80* (Panos Bolanos); 8th place - Bryson Huey (50.41)
400 Medley Relay - 1st place - 3:07.45* (Bolanos, Beji, Page-Jones, Hemmens)
^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score
Players Mentioned
IM/Breastroke
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Fly/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint
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