Thursday, February 22
Houston, TX
All Day
University of Nevada Las Vegas
vs
Mountain West Championships
Howell Brings Home MW 200 IM Title With Conference Record
2/22/2024 10:10:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
The senior's gold led a four-medal outing for the Rebels on the second day of the Mountain West Championships
HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – Senior Ruby Howell brought home the 200 IM title with a conference record to lead UNLV women's swimming and diving's four-medal outing on Thursday's second day of the MW Championships at CRWC Natatorium.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Howell gave the Rebels their first MW gold medal in the 200 IM since the 2009 season with a league-record as well as MW championship meet and school records at 1:56.67. She broke the Scarlet & Gray program-best mark previously set by All-American and five-time Olympian Zsuzsanna Jakabos (1:58.10) in 2009 and the old top conference time from 2014 held by San Diego State's Mikaela Macklin (1:56.95).
Contributing a silver-medal performance in the 50 free, freshman Fernanda Mendez Guerra sped to the school's third-fastest time in 22.39 seconds. That quick burst came on the heels of her 22.55 -second swim in the prelims.
Making her way onto the podium, junior Gina Miller left with the bronze medal after posting the fourth-fastest time in program history at 4:47.52. It was Miller's new personal-best mark that improved upon her former career best by 4.77 seconds.
Finishing off the nightcap with a bronze medal in the 400 medley relay, freshman Dominika Trentkiewicz, Madison Petschauer, Mendez Guerra and junior Pilar Cohen swam a Scarlet & Gray season-best time of 3:38.41.
Behind those efforts, UNLV moved up to second place in the team standings with 484.50 points through the meet's halfway point. They climbed two spots from fourth place and are within 83.5 points of leader San Diego State.
THE RUNDOWN:
*In her first career 200 IM victory at the MW Championships, Howell gained the lead on the backstroke leg of the race and never relinquished it. Howell's swim was her second program record and NCAA 'B' cut on the day after she already set a new school record during the morning prelims.
*Miller's 500 free medal paced the Scarlet & Gray's highest scoring event of the night, as sophomore Erika Carlson's (4:48.18) fifth-place finish and freshman Ava Olson's sixth-place finish gave the squad (4:49.87) 101 points in the event. With her time, Olson (4:49.65) had claimed the seventh-fastest swim in program history to start the day in prelims.
*Scoring additional points for the Rebels in the 500 free, sophomore Hannah Jones (4:52.65) reached the wall third in the 'B' final and 11th place overall Marta Klimek (4:54.30) earned the heat victory in the 'C' final for a 17th-place overall finish. Klimek's finish followed her own personal record.
*Senior Blanka Bokros competed alongside Howell in the 200 IM 'A' final, finishing seventh with a time of 2:04.26. Earlier in the day, Bokros jumped into sixth all-time at UNLV in the event during prelims (2:00.40) to qualify for the top final heat.
*Competing in the 50 free final with Mendez Guerra, Cohen (22.76) and junior Bridget Sullivan (22.93) pulled out fifth-place and seventh-place finishes, respectively. Sullivan made her way into the UNLV record book with the program's 10th-best mark.
*In the 50 free 'C' final, sophomore Averi Webb won the heat on a 23.21-second split and senior Calysta Bartlett tied for second in the heat at 23.34 seconds. They wound up in 17th and 18th overall, respectively.
*Making it into the 3-meter diving 'B' final, senior Vika Yanovska leaped to a 16th-place finish.
UP NEXT: The meet resumes with Friday's prelims at 8:30 a.m. PT and finals at 4 p.m. PT.
2024 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Thurdsay, February 22
Day 3 Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 568
2. UNLV - 484.50
3. UNR - 356
4. Colorado State - 336
5. Fresno State - 313.50
6. San Jose State - 289
7. Wyoming - 266
8. Air Force - 260
9. New Mexico - 214
Top-8 Finishes
500 Free - 3rd place - 4:47.52 (Gina Miller), 5th place - 4:48.18 (Erika Carlson), 6th place - 4:49.87 (Ava Olson)
200 IM - 1st place - 1:56.67 (Ruby Howell), 7th place - 2:04.26 (Blanka Bokros)
50 Free - 3rd place - 22.39 (Fernanda Mendez Guerra), 5th place - 22.76 (Pilar Cohen), 7th place - 22.93 (Bridget Sullivan)
400 Medley Relay - 3rd place - 3:38.41 (Trentkiewicz, Petschauer, Mendez Guerra, Cohen).
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Howell gave the Rebels their first MW gold medal in the 200 IM since the 2009 season with a league-record as well as MW championship meet and school records at 1:56.67. She broke the Scarlet & Gray program-best mark previously set by All-American and five-time Olympian Zsuzsanna Jakabos (1:58.10) in 2009 and the old top conference time from 2014 held by San Diego State's Mikaela Macklin (1:56.95).
UNBELIEVABLE SWIM‼️Ruby Howell wins the Rebels' first 200 IM conference title since 2009 after breaking a 10-year-old conference record and a 15-year-old school record! #JustGoOff 🤯😳🙀😲😱💥 pic.twitter.com/Bk15G0jf7k
— UNLV Swim & Dive (@UNLV_Swim_Dive) February 23, 2024
Contributing a silver-medal performance in the 50 free, freshman Fernanda Mendez Guerra sped to the school's third-fastest time in 22.39 seconds. That quick burst came on the heels of her 22.55 -second swim in the prelims.
Making her way onto the podium, junior Gina Miller left with the bronze medal after posting the fourth-fastest time in program history at 4:47.52. It was Miller's new personal-best mark that improved upon her former career best by 4.77 seconds.
Finishing off the nightcap with a bronze medal in the 400 medley relay, freshman Dominika Trentkiewicz, Madison Petschauer, Mendez Guerra and junior Pilar Cohen swam a Scarlet & Gray season-best time of 3:38.41.
Behind those efforts, UNLV moved up to second place in the team standings with 484.50 points through the meet's halfway point. They climbed two spots from fourth place and are within 83.5 points of leader San Diego State.
THE RUNDOWN:
*In her first career 200 IM victory at the MW Championships, Howell gained the lead on the backstroke leg of the race and never relinquished it. Howell's swim was her second program record and NCAA 'B' cut on the day after she already set a new school record during the morning prelims.
*Miller's 500 free medal paced the Scarlet & Gray's highest scoring event of the night, as sophomore Erika Carlson's (4:48.18) fifth-place finish and freshman Ava Olson's sixth-place finish gave the squad (4:49.87) 101 points in the event. With her time, Olson (4:49.65) had claimed the seventh-fastest swim in program history to start the day in prelims.
*Scoring additional points for the Rebels in the 500 free, sophomore Hannah Jones (4:52.65) reached the wall third in the 'B' final and 11th place overall Marta Klimek (4:54.30) earned the heat victory in the 'C' final for a 17th-place overall finish. Klimek's finish followed her own personal record.
*Senior Blanka Bokros competed alongside Howell in the 200 IM 'A' final, finishing seventh with a time of 2:04.26. Earlier in the day, Bokros jumped into sixth all-time at UNLV in the event during prelims (2:00.40) to qualify for the top final heat.
*Competing in the 50 free final with Mendez Guerra, Cohen (22.76) and junior Bridget Sullivan (22.93) pulled out fifth-place and seventh-place finishes, respectively. Sullivan made her way into the UNLV record book with the program's 10th-best mark.
*In the 50 free 'C' final, sophomore Averi Webb won the heat on a 23.21-second split and senior Calysta Bartlett tied for second in the heat at 23.34 seconds. They wound up in 17th and 18th overall, respectively.
*Making it into the 3-meter diving 'B' final, senior Vika Yanovska leaped to a 16th-place finish.
UP NEXT: The meet resumes with Friday's prelims at 8:30 a.m. PT and finals at 4 p.m. PT.
2024 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Thurdsay, February 22
Day 3 Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 568
2. UNLV - 484.50
3. UNR - 356
4. Colorado State - 336
5. Fresno State - 313.50
6. San Jose State - 289
7. Wyoming - 266
8. Air Force - 260
9. New Mexico - 214
Top-8 Finishes
500 Free - 3rd place - 4:47.52 (Gina Miller), 5th place - 4:48.18 (Erika Carlson), 6th place - 4:49.87 (Ava Olson)
200 IM - 1st place - 1:56.67 (Ruby Howell), 7th place - 2:04.26 (Blanka Bokros)
50 Free - 3rd place - 22.39 (Fernanda Mendez Guerra), 5th place - 22.76 (Pilar Cohen), 7th place - 22.93 (Bridget Sullivan)
400 Medley Relay - 3rd place - 3:38.41 (Trentkiewicz, Petschauer, Mendez Guerra, Cohen).
Players Mentioned
IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Mid-Distance/Distance
/ Swimming & Diving
Distance/Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Diving
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