LEWISVILLE, Texas – Adams State Women's Swimming placed 8th at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships. The Championship meet had all 9 RMAC teams competing from Feb 13-16. Colorado Mesa took the crown in both men's and women's championships.
Adams State finished the meet with 175 points, 33 points above Nebraska-Kearney. The top Grizzly swimmers at the Championship were
Megan Dudden,
Claudia Garcia,
Madison Rincon, Gwyneadd Howdyshell.
Day 1
The meet began with the 1000 Freestyle. Adams State had four athletes competing in this event, and had all four finish in the top 25. Rincon placed 18th in 11:11.24. Howdyshell finished 19th in 11:12.16, with
Emma-Joy Montana in 20th in 1:19.07.
Taylor Jamison finished not far behind them in 24th in 11:23.30.
The morning continued with the 200 IM Prelims, where Adams State had four Grizzlies racing. Dudden carried the team finishing in 16th in 2:13.08.
Olivia Beames finished in 28th,
Libby Weeks in 31st, and
Jacqueline Cisneros in 37th. Later that afternoon Dudden returned to the pool for the 200 IM finals where she placed 14th, crushing her prelim time by nearly two seconds (2:11.17).
The 50 Freestyle prelims were the next races on deck. The Grizzlies had seven racers in the 50 Free, with Garcia placing 20th in 24.82, and
Avery Wilson finishing 32nd in 25.60. In the finals that afternoon, Garcia hit the water again, finishing 22nd in 24.87.
Adams State's final race of the day was the 200 Medley Relay. Grizzly relay team of
Kendalyn Spurr, Beames, Rincon, and Garcia placed 8th in 1:54.35. The Grizzly relay was nearly 10 seconds faster than the UNK 9th place finish relay.
Day 2
Day 2 began with the 400 IM Prelims, where Adams State had five racers all finish in the top 30, and one in the top 10. Dudden placed 9th in her prelim, finishing in 4:41.05. Weeks placed 23rd, Beames in 26th, Rincon in 27th and Walgast in 29th. In the finals later that day, Dudden finished the 400 IM in 14th, completing the race in 4:40.38.
The morning continued with the Preliminary races for the 100 Butterfly and 200 Freestyle. In the 100 Fly, Wilson finished 35th,
Pilar Aguirre in 37th, and
Hailey Parsons in 39th. Howdyshell led the Grizzlies in the 200 Free, finishing in 21st in 2:00.60. Spurr placed 30th in 2:06.47, and Jamison and Cisneros placed 32nd and 33rd only .13 second away from each other. Howdyshell competed in the finals for the 200 Free, placing 22nd in 2:01.19.
Day 2 closed with two relays: the 200 Freestyle relay and the 400 Medley Relay. Grizzly team of Garcia, Wilson, Montana and Howdyshell finished the race in 1:40.57, placing 7th. The Adams State 400 Medley Relay team placed 7th as well. Spurr, Beames, Dudden and Howdyshell finished in 4:07.30.
Day 3
Adams State started day 3 with the 500 Freestyle Prelims. The Grizzlies did a great job in both the prelims and finals. Garcia finished in 20th, Howdyshell in 21st, Montana in 24th and Jamison 25th. In the finals, Montana made a huge jump, finishing in 19th in 5:24.19. Howdyshell placed 21st in 5:25.97, with Garicia finishing in 23rd and Jamison in 24th.
The day continued with the 100 Backstroke Prelims. Wilson and Walgast led the Grizzlies placing 22nd and 24th, both making it to the finals, where Wilson finished in 18th in 1:01.07 and Walgast in 23rd in 1:03.13. The 100 Breaststroke came next. In the prelims Dudden placed 16th with Beames in 18th and Cisneros in 26th. Dudden and Beames finished 16th and 18th in the finals: Dudden in 1:08.55 and Beames in 1:10.01.
The final prelim of day 3 was the 200 Fly. Adams State had Grizzlies Weeks place 26th, Aguirre finish 39th, and Rincon and Parsons in 30th and 31st. The day wrapped up with the 800 Freestyle relay. Adams State team of Howdyshell, Montana, Dudden and Rincon placed 11th, and team of Walgast, Spurr, Jamison and Weeks place 14th.
Day 4
The final day of competition started with the 1650 Freestyle. Adams State had three swimmers finish in the top 20. Rincon led the Grizzlies finishing in 14th in 18:49.70, with Jamison following in 16th in 18:54.73, and Howdyshell placing 19th in 19.16.62.
The morning continued with the 100 Freestyle Prelims. Garcia placed 26th in 56.27, just making her way in to finals, with Wilson finishing in 29th, and Aguirre in 35th. Garcia placed 18th in the finals in 54.03, improving her time by nearly three seconds.
In the 200 Backstroke Prelims, Walgast finished in 21st, Spurr in 26th, Weeks in 27th, and Montana in 29th. Both Walgast and Spurr increased their finalist spots. Walgast finished in 20th in 2:16.39, and Spurr in 24th in 2:21.49.
The 200 Breaststroke Prelims brought great races from Adams State. Dudden finished in 13th in 2:29.53, Beames in 21st in 2:33.91 and Walgast in 28th in 2:39.05. In the finals Dudden and Beames improved their times by almost two seconds. Dudden placed 13th in 2:27.83 and Beames in 18th in 2:31.53.
The final race of the meet was the 400 Freestyle relay. Adams State team of Dudden, Wilson, Rincon, and Howdyshell placed 9th in 3:47.71.
The Grizzlies finished the season 2-5, and had some great performances throughout the season.
