HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – Freshman Grace Wharton reeled in a silver medal in the 200 IM to lead the Rebels on Thursday's second day of the MW Championships at CRWC Natatorium.
Wharton's silver medal performance in the 200 IM went down as the fourth-fastest time in program history (1:59.35). Additionally, she became the fifth Rebel women's swimmer to ever go under two minutes in the event.
THE RUNDOWN:
- Wharton's time gave her an NCAA 'B' cut and she improved upon her morning prelims time by seven-tenths of a second.
- In the 3-meter dive prelims, freshman Allyse Abbott led the Scarlet & Gray with an 11th place score of 266.65, while her freshman counterpart Wylde Chupich earned a score of 261.40 that landed her in 12th place.
- In the 500 free, the Rebels had three swimmers compete in the finals. They were led by sophomore Ava Olson who placed fourth and swam the third-fastest time in program history at 4:46.85 seconds.
- Earning additional points in the 500 free, senior Gina Miller (4:48.62) and junior Erika Carlson (4:51.08) followed closely behind Olson placing fifth and seventh, respectively.
- Competing in the 50 free final, sophomore Fernanda Mendez Guerra sprinted her way to a sixth-place finish (22.75).
- Collecting more points in 50 free B final, the Scarlet & Gray featured three swimmers who gave the Rebels 37 total points in the event. Senior Pilar Cohen placed fifth in the B final and 13th overall (23.06), senior Heather Gardner took seventh in the heat and 15th overall (23.13) and senior Bridget Sullivan finished eighth in the B final and 16th overall.
- Ending the night in a tightly contested race, the Scarlet & Gray 400 medley relay 'A' team grinded out a fourth-place finish (3:37.72)..
QUOTABLE: "I'm proud of the women for setting themselves up tonight with great swims this morning. We cut into San Diego State's lead, but we still have a lot of work to do. We just need to take it one session at a time and focus on what we can control."
-UNLV Head Coach Pat Ota
UP NEXT: The championship meet picks back up Friday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. PT and finals at 4 p.m. PT.
2025 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Thursday, February 20
Night Two Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 456
2. UNLV - 442
3. UNR - 403
4. Wyoming - 386
5. Fresno State – 364
6. Washington State - 347
7. Colorado State - 267
8. New Mexico – 245
9. Air Force – 230
10. San Jose State – 134
Top-8 Finishes
500 Free – 4th place - 4:46.85 (Olson)
500 Free – 5th place - 4:48.62 (Miller)
500 Free – 7th place - 4:51.08 (Carlson)
200 IM – 2nd place - 1:59.35 (Wharton)
50 Free – 6th place - 22.75 (Mendez Guerra)
400 Medley Relay – 4th place - 3:37.72 (Trentkiewicz, Gardner, Mendez Guerra, Carlson)
-UNLV-
