OKLAHOMA CITY -- The BYU women's and the UNLV men’s swimming and diving teams lead all teams with 320 and 303 points, respectively, through day two of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Swimming & Diving Championships. The BYU men and Wyoming women are second in their respective competitions with 285.5 and 288 points, respectively.
Wyoming is third in the men's rankings with 236 points, followed by Air Force (212.5), TCU (146) and Utah (136). On the women's side, San Diego State holds the third spot with 194 points, followed by Utah (166), Colorado State (141), UNLV (134), TCU (103), New Mexico (92) and Air Force (41).
Highlights of day two for the Cougars included wins by divers Brandon Watson and Tawni Jones, winning the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events, respectively.
Provisionally qualifying for the NCAA National Championships, John Kendrick finished fourth in the men’s 500 free with a final time of 4:26.88. Also earning a ‘B’ cut time was Natasha Menezes in the same event, placing second with a time of 4:48.65. Amy Xu finished 13th overall with a time of 4:58.34.
Earning 15 points for his team and an NCAA ‘B’ cut time in the men’s 200 IM, junior Vytenis Slenys finished fourth in the event with a time of 1:49.27 in finals and 1:48.72 in prelims. Freshman Hayden Palmer finished eighth in the event with a preliminary time of 1:51.10 and a final time of 1:52.39 while Ryan Bills finished 10th with a time of 1:50.86.
Juniors Rachel Grant and Sara Jayne Baldwin finished second and third in the 200 IM, both earning NCAA ‘B’ cut times of 2:00.45 and 2:00.58, respectively. Baldwin’s preliminary time was 2:00.27, a personal best. Freshman Londyn Clawson placed 14th in the event to earn a preliminary time of 2:06.16 and a final time of 2:06.35.
After the UNLV men took first through seventh in the 50 free, Christian Keil finished 11th for the Cougars with a preliminary time of 20.83 and a final time of 20.86. Daniel Bates finished 15th with a time of 21.03 and later 21.13 while David Mason finished 16th with 21.06 and 21.20 as his times on the afternoon.
Junior Aleesha Miller and freshman Taryn Toolson finished second and third, respectively, in the women’s 50 free, Miller earning an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 22.83 and Toolson clocking in at 23.10. Senior Kirsty Ferrell just missed the cutoff of the final heat, finishing ninth in the prelims with a time of 23.34 and winning the consolation heat with a time of 23.19 that would’ve placed her fifth in the finals.
Sophomore All-American Brandon Watson and senior Ron Morris finished first and second in the 1-meter springboard event, earning 37 points for the Cougar men. Watson finished with a new MWC All-Time record of 396.15 points while Morris finished with 353.60 points. Watson owns a perfect 4-0 record in the springboard events at the MWC Championship. Nic Suder finished sixth (330.35), Sam Hatch seventh (322.00), and Travis Day eighth (306.05).
Earning her second title of the championships, senior Tawni Jones finished first on the 3-meter springboard, earning a new championship record with a score of 359.50. Seniors Ava Jackman (317.05) and Emily Woods (285.40) finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
The top three finishers in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay clocked NCAA B-cuts, led by Wyoming. The Cowgirls, who finished the race with an MWC all-time record time of 1:30.55, earned their first victory in the event at the MWC Championships. BYU (1:31.61) and San Diego State (1:32.69) joined Wyoming on the medals podium.
Day three events begin with the 400-yard individual medley prelims at 10 a.m. CT, with the finals starting at 6 p.m. CT. The 2010 MWC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, February 27.
For day one's results of the MWCC, click HERE.