PHARR, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) -- The UNLV men's swimming and diving team secured its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title Saturday at the City of Pharr Natatorium. This is the program's first-ever WAC three-peat, while it marks the fifth time the Rebels hoist the league's trophy.

Additionally, the Rebels clinched their first three-peat of conference meets since 2015. They previously achieved the feat with the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title in 2013, preceding back-to-back WAC titles from 2014-15.

The Scarlet & Gray ended this year's conference meet with 838 points, which is the team's third highest team score achieved at the conference competition. Behind them was Grand Canyon as the next closest finisher in second with 627.5 points, followed by California Baptist (565 points), Wyoming (545.5 points), Air Force (542 points) and Seattle (194 points) in third through sixth, respectively.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY: 

In his final individual WAC race, senior Pano Bolanos won his fourth title in the 200 back with a conference record time of 1:40.64. He bested the WAC's previous five-year record (1:40.81) held by former Grand Canyon All-American swimmer Mark Nikolaev, who was the last to claim four consecutive 200 back titles in 2019. Additionally, he broke his own school record set as a freshman (1:41.08) during the 2019-20 season.

The Rebels quartet of junior George Ratiu (43.07), Bolanos (42.05), freshman Kris Matuszweski (42.85) and super senior Reece Hemmens (43.05) ended the meet with the 400 free relay (2:51.02) gold medal for the second year in a row. They also secured the Scarlet & Gray's first sweep of all five relays since it last did so in 2015.

THE RUNDOWN - MEN:
*Bringing home bronze to add onto the Rebels' podium-finishes during the nightcap were senior Cam Castro in the 1650 free (15:25.29), juniors George Ratiu in the 100 free (43.41), junior McKay Mickelson in the 200 back (1:45.09) and sophomore Mike Breitbart in the 200 breast (1:56.86)
*UNLV had its two divers in the platform finals, as sophomore Dima Tereshchenko (300.25) and junior Jamie Spilchak (275.05) finished fourth and sixth, respectively. The Rebel diving duo each earned NCAA Zone qualifying marks during the morning prelims, with Tereshchenko (305.45~) posting the fourth highest score in program history and Spilchak (283.80) the school's fifth best.
*The Rebels received additional scoring in the 'A' final of the 100 free that featured Matuszewski's (43.50) fifth-place finish, Hemmens' (43.63) sixth-place finish and senior Steven Butler's (44.22) seventh-place finish.
*Earning victories in their 100 free heats, junior Lucas Esenwein's first-place finish in the 'B' final was good enough for ninth overall (44.10) and freshman Charley Page-Jones' first-place time (44.40) in the 'C' final was 17th overall.
*Sophomores Dominik Bujak (1:48.50) and Andrew Navarro (1:51.45) provided Scarlet & Gray representation in the 200 fly 'A' final via their respective seventh-place and eight-place finishes. It was Navarro's second top-8 finish of the evening as he also took sixth in the 1650 free (15:40.57).
*Making their way up UNLV's all-time record charts, Breitbart, Hemmens, Mickelson, Matuszewski eached cracked the top-10 with their swims. Breitbart moved up to sixth in the 200 breast, Matuszewski tied the fifth-fastest 100 free,  Mickelson jumped from eighth to sixth in the 200 back and Hemmens' 100 free prelims time (43.59) ranks 10th.

QUOTABLE: "The one thing (winning a conference championship) always takes is depth. You've got to be able to cover all events and have the ability to put individuals into the top-8. At a deeper level it takes real persistence throughout the year. We didn't win a single dual in the fall. For these guys to recalibrate and keep their eyes on the prize - and during the last 12 weeks of the season to step up every single week - that is what it took for us." - UNLV Head Coach Ben Loorz

UP NEXT: The Rebels will now send their divers to the NCAA Zone E Championships in Federal Way, Washington, from March 6-8. On the swimming side, the UNLV men's 200 free relay team will head to the NCAA Championships set to be held in Minneapolis from March 22-28.

2023 Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
The City of Pharr Natatorium
Pharr, Texas
Saturday, February 25
Final Day Results

Team Scoring
1. UNLV - 838
2. Grand Canyon - 627.5
3. California Baptist - 565
4 Wyoming - 545.5
5. Air Force - 542
6. Seattle - 194

Top-8 Finishes
1650 Free: 3rd place - 15:25.29 (Cam Castro); 6th place - 15:40.57 (Andrew Navarro)
200 Back: 1st place - 1:40.64 (Panos Bolanos); 3rd place - 1:45.09 (McKay Mickelson)
100 Free: 3rd place - 43.41* (George Ratiu); 5th place - 43.50* (Kris Matuszewski); 6th place - 43.63 (Reece Hemmens); 7th place - 44.22 (Steven Butler)
200 Breast: 3rd place - 1:56.86 (Mike Breitbart);
200 Fly: 7th place - 1:48.50 (Dominik Bujak); 8th place - 1:51.45 (Andrew Navarro)
Platform Diving: 4th place - 300.25 (Dima Tereshchenko); 6th place - 275.05 (Jamie Spilchak)
400 Free Relay: 1st place - 2:51.02 (Ratiu, Bolanos, Matuszewski, Hemmens)

^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score

NEWS & NOTES:
*The Rebels' final medal count at the WAC competition reached 21, including five relay golds, four individual golds, four individual silvers and eight individual bronzes.
*UNLV's most consecutive conference titles won remains at seven, which the school won as members of the Mountain West from 2005-11 under UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame head coach Jim Reitz.