HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – Senior
Blanka Bokros broke her own 200 fly conference, meet and school records as the UNLV swimming and diving team won six medals to wrap up the Mountain West Championships Saturday at CRWC Natatorium.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Bokros, who had a record-breaking swim in similar fashion at last year's meet, became the Rebel women's program's first swimmer to three-peat as individual conference champion in the 200 fly. It also marked the second consecutive season she swept the 100 fly and 200 fly gold medals at the league's championship event.
Freshman
Fernanda Mendez Guerra, who was named the Freshman of the Meet, earned a silver medal in the 100 free with a school record of 48.81 seconds. She topped the previous program best of 49.12 by Michelle Troup during the 2015-16 season.
Getting bronze medals with personal records in their events were junior
Cameron Mykkanen in the 200 fly, as well as freshmen
Ava Olson in the 1650 free and
Dominika Trentkiewicz in the 200 back. Mykkanen (1:59.28) became just the fourth Rebel to dip below two minutes in the 200 fly, while Olson (16:28.62) remained at second all-time in program history and Trentkiewicz (1:55.83) had UNLV's third-fastest time.
Adding silver in the 400 free relay, the UNLV 'A' team of
Pilar Cohen,
Erika Carlson,
Averi Webb and Mendez Guerra combined to post the fourth-fastest time in program history at 3:18.26.
Freshman
Chelsey Dorosh became the Rebels' new record-holder on the diving platform with a score of 242.10 just a minute after senior
Vika Yanovska (241.40) set the program's top mark. The duo finished seventh and eighth, respectively, as they both surpassed former UNLV diver Alyssa Arnett's previous school-best score (237.90) from the 2016-17 season.
As a team, the Scarlet & Gray finished in second place for the second straight year with 1,256.50 points, landing ahead of Colorado State (897 points) in third, Fresno State in fourth (886.50 points) and UNR (854.50) in fifth. With the higher finish over the Wolf Pack, the Scarlet & Gray claimed the three points in the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union. San Diego State (1,487.50) won the team title.
THE RUNDOWN:
*Bokros, Mendez Guerra, Trentkiewicz and Olson each tallied NCAA 'B' cuts with their swims.
*Senior
Ruby Howell also swam a 'B' cut with a new personal record of 2:12.24 to finish sixth in the 200 breaststroke, which was the fourth-best mark on the Rebels' record chart.
*In the 1650 free, junior
Gina Miller finished fourth just a short time after Olson with a 16:32.70 to catapult up to third in program history. It was a 17.04-second improvement upon her previous personal record.
*Carlson (50.09) competed alongside her Scarlet & Gray teammate Mendez Guerra in the 100 free 'A' final, taking eighth place.
*Earning a heat victory in the 'C' final of the 200 breast,
Madison Petschauer (2:17.44) ended up in 17th place overall.
QUOTABLE: "I'm very proud to coach this squad and I'm excited about the ways in which they took our program to the next level this season. To break two MW records and five school records in the same weekend is something this squad hasn't accomplished in recent memory. We had some really impactful injuries and illnesses this week, but the resilience the women showed was critical to our success. This group of seniors were the ones who spent the COVID-19 riddled season in the dorms. They've been through a lot together and their dedication to this team really showed (throughout their time). On the other hand, our freshman class developed in really exciting ways this year, raced with a lot of poise and had a major impact not only on the scoreboard this weekend, but on the UNLV all-time list."
-UNLV Head Coach Ben Loorz
UP NEXT: The Rebel men will take their shot at a fourth consecutive WAC Championship next week in Pharr, Texas at City of Pharr Natatorium from Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 28-March 2.
2024 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Saturday, February 25
Final Day Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 1,487.50
2. UNLV - 1,286.50
3. Colorado State - 897
4. Fresno State - 886.50
5. UNR - 854.50
6. Wyoming - 775
7. Air Force - 769
8. San Jose State - 591
9. New Mexico - 417
Top-8 Finishes
1650 Free - 3rd place - 16:28.62 (
Ava Olson),
4th place - 16:32.70 (
Gina Miller)
200 Back - 3rd place - 1:55.83 (
Dominika Trentkiewicz)
100 Free - 2nd place - 48.81 (Mendez Guerra),
8th place - 50.09 (
Erika Carlson)
200 Breast - 6th place - 2:12.24 (
Ruby Howell)
200 Fly - 1st place - 1:55.16 (
Blanka Bokros),
4th place - 1:59.28 (
Cameron Mykkanen)
400 Free Relay - 2nd place - 3:18.26 (Cohen, Carlson, Webb, Mendez Guerra)
