COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  The lead flip-flopped throughout the final session Sunday of the Colorado College Classic, and in the end it was the host Tigers who fended off the challenge of Western Colorado swimming and diving to earn the Classic title, 1,113 points to 1,070 points.

JUST THE FACTS
Event: Colorado College Classic
Team scores (top 3): 1 – Colorado College, 1,113 pts., 2 – Western Colorado, 1,070 pts., 3 – Univ. of Colo. Boulder, 367 pts.
Location: Schlessman Natatorium, Colorado Springs, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western began the final session trailing CC by just four points (694-690) entering the opening individual event, the 500 freestyle, but took the lead (766-749) with four finishers in the championship heat and two more in the consolation final.
• The Tigers bit back in the next events, the 50 free and the 200 breaststroke, to inch in front, though.
• Western pushed back ahead, 918-914, after placing four finishers in the championship final of the 200 backstroke and stretched the advantage to 20 points after the 200 individual medley.
• Colorado College stole the lead back in the final individual event, the 100 butterfly, pushing six swimmers – with Western's Anna Maurello and Miranda Noonan the only outliers – into the championship final and swimming to the top three spots in the finals heat.
• The Tigers held off the Mountaineer challenge in the last event, taking first and third in the 200 free relay with Western's 'A' and 'B' teams finishing second and fourth, respectively.

MOUNTAINEER CLASSIC NOTES

• Though the hosts won 13 individual events and all 5 relays, compared to Western's lone victory in Saturday's 400 IM by LynDea Turner, the outcome of the team point total was in doubt until the very end of the three-day meet.
• Turner piled up 65 points over her events, third most overall of all entrants. One back with 64 points was Jordan Maruska, and in fifth with 62 points was Leah Wagner. Makenna Lambert tallied 59 points to score the sixth most at the Classic.
• Turner's Sunday included a second in the 500 free (5 minutes, 28.73 seconds) and a fourth in the 200 back (2:15.94). She was also on the fifth-place 'B' 200 medley relay and second-place 'A' 800 free relay that swam as timed final events in the beginning and end of Sunday's preliminaries session.
• Wagner, Courtney Coplan and Tayla Liddle also earned second-place finishes Sunday. Wagner was runner-up in the 200 breaststroke (2:22.17), later adding a fifth in the 200 IM (5:22.17), while Coplan was second in the 200 back (2:11.87) after earlier in the session adding a 12th from the 50 free (26.15 seconds). Liddle placed second in the 200 IM (2:19.24).
• That leap in points from the 500 free was buoyed by Turner, Maruska (3rd, 5:28.97), Lambert (5th, 5:38.18) and Liddle (6th, 5:41.76) in the championship final, and Lauren Linneman (9th, 5:44.17) and Sidney-Ann Morris (10th, 5:45.87) in the consolation final.
• The 200 breaststroke was another solid championship-heat points leap as Wagner's second place edged out Addison O'Donnell (3rd, 2:34.45) and Trinity Caudle (4th, 2:39.41). Also in the heat was Linneman who was seventh with a time of 2:43.86.
• Joining Coplan and Turner in the championship final of the 200 back were Afton page (5th, 2:16.07) and Bella Gamez (6th, 2:20.07). The next event, the 200 IM, saw O'Donnell (7th, 2:22.89) join Liddle and Wagner in the championship heat, with Emma Smith winning the consols in a time of 2:22.07 for a ninth place finish.
• In the aforementioned 100 fly final, Marello (1:03.82) finished fourth while Noonan (1:05.13) was seventh. Winning the consols heat was Elisa Elsberry (1:06.13) for a ninth-place finish.

UP NEXT
Western closes out its regular season on Saturday at home against Adams State in one final Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match-up before the RMAC championship meet  that begins on February 8.