Feb. 27, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY - San Diego State swimmers picked up another pair of gold medals and set five new school records as the Aztecs concluded the 2010 Mountain West Conference Championships with 589 points and a third-place finish. The team's final standing is the best ever for the SDSU swimming and diving squad in the 11 year history of the MWC, easily eclipsing three previous sixth-place finishes.
Aztec freshman Katelyn Weddle, who broke the meet and conference records in the 100 breaststroke on Friday, duplicated that feat on Saturday when she set new standards in the 200 breast. Her first-place time of 2:11.26 bettered the old records by over two seconds and met the NCAA B qualifying standard as well.
SDSU's other victory came in the 1650 freestyle where senior Petra Radovic went 16:34.78 to establish a new SDSU record. Her mark broke the old school-best that had stood the past nine years as she also swam an NCAA B time. Melanie Garibaldi took third with a time of 16:43.01.
Leona Jennings' second-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 1:57.20 bettered her own SDSU record set earlier this season. In the 200 butterfly, Brooke Vessey set a school record with a 2:01.70 that gave her a bronze medal in that event.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Stephanie Koch, Meghan Zimmer, Leona Jennings and Jessica Crider recorded and NCAA B mark as it finished third in 3:22.32. That time bettered the previous SDSU record by over five seconds.
In the platform diving. Aztec freshman Aina Eill picked up points with a sixth-place finish after posting a score of 209.40 in the finals.
At the conclusion of the meet, SDSU freshman Meghan Zimmer received women's conference Swimmer of the Year honors along with BYU's Rachel Grant. During the championships, Zimmer captured first place in the 200 and 500 free and was a member of the winning 800 free relay squad. Her time of 4:47.18 in the 500 free established new conference and meet records. She also finished fourth in the 200 back and third with the 400 free relay team. All five of the events in which she competed had times that met the NCAA B qualifying standard.
In addition, third-year SDSU Head Coach Mike Shrader was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year after leading his squad to its best-ever finish both during the regular season and at the MWC Swimming and Diving Championships. It marked the second consecutive year that Shrader won the honor as the league's top coach.
The all-Mountain West Conference team will be announced on Monday, March 1.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGSBrigham Young....703Wyoming..........674San Diego State..589UNLV.............386Utah.............377Colorado State...366TCU..............233New Mexico.......214Air Force........150