GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.  The Mountaineers finished strong with five podium awards Saturday night on the last of the five-day 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships at El Pomar Natatorium, closing out the meet in fourth place in the team standings with 1,010 points.

The evening's finals session included another NCAA provisional qualifying time, after the morning preliminary swims had added a school record and provisional time earlier in the day.

Adding to Morgan Nielsen's provisional time and school record in the 1,650-yard freestyle in prelims was Leah Wagner's provisional time and fourth-place championship heat finish in the 200 breaststroke.

Wagner swam to a career-best time of 2 minutes, 20.71 seconds to better the NCAA provisional (altitude adjusted) time standard.

Nielsen earned a seventh-place finish in the 1,650 – a timed final event – with her time of 17:15.51, the fastest time in the preliminary session's heats. The fastest eight times in the event hit the water first to open the night's finals session, and Nielsen's time bettered two of the swimmers in that heat moving Nielsen up to seventh overall.

The Mountaineers earned more points in the event with 14th, 15th and 18th places by, respectively, AvaMarie Hopewell (18:20.17), Sidney-Ann Morris (18:26.58) and Sophia Del Rosario (18:49.56).

Western's largest point total from a single event came next as five swimmers scored in the 200 backstroke, led by Makenna Lambert's podium-finish time of 2:06.53, the eighth-place time in the championship heat.

The Mountaineers made up half of the 'B' consolation final with LynDea Turner, Adessa Talbot, Amayah Warren and Maggie Dean filling the field. Turner (2:07.61) would finish 11th overall, Talbot (2:08.23) 13th, Warren (2:12.35) 14th, and Dean (2:12.91) 16th.

The final individual women's event at the championship meet was the 200 breaststroke.

Demi Blaylock (2:28.76) and Ella Fries (2:29.31) were in the 'C' final and earned 16th and 19th place finishes for the Mountaineers.

Wagner was joined in the championship final by teammate Trinity Caudle. Wagner's fourth place was accompanied by Caudle's fifth place, as she hit the pad in 2:21.10 and joined Wagner on the podium for the event's awards presentation.

All the was left was for Western's two 400 free relays to jump into the pool.

The 'B' relay team of Dean, Grace Gardner, Hopewell and Wagner finished their heat in 3:43.62 to earn 14th-place points.

Nielsen, Madi Zach, Joanna Swiderska and Lambert teamed up on the A relay to earn fourth place with a time of 3:33.13.

Western's 1,010 points were only 146 points behind third place Colorado School of Mines (1,156.5) and well ahead of fourth place Oklahoma Christian University (804.5).

What's next for the Mountaineers is to away the selection process for the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championship Meet in Indianapolis on March 11-15.

Western divers Chloe Brown and Alexandra Wallis already know they will be making a trip to the Midwest as they have posted scores that earn them entry into the March 11 Diving Qualification Meet at the championship site.

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PRELIMS RECAP
Western Colorado's breaststroke duo of Trinity Caudle and Leah Wagner will lead the Mountaineers into last finals session Saturday night of the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at El Pomar Natatorium

Caudle, Wagner and Makenna Lambert all earned spots in their respective event's championship heats.

Caudle posted the fourth-fastest time in the morning's prelims in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing her heat in a time of 2 minutes, 22.27 seconds. Wagner, with a 2:22.69, will head into the championship heat as the fifth seed.

Lambert earned the final spot in the championship final of the 200 backstroke. Her time of 2:07.14 will be the eighth seed in that 'A' final.

Caudle, Wagner and Lambert won't be alone in warming up for their events, though.

In the 200 back, LynDea Turner (2:07.64), Adessa Talbot (2:08.63), Amayah Warren (2:13.08) and Maggie Dean (2:14.13) will make up half of the field in the 'B' consolation heat. Turner was ninth after the prelims, Talbot was 11th, Warren 15th, and Dean was 16th.

In the 200 breaststroke, Demi Blaylock (2:29.52) and Ella Fries (2:34.02) will swim in the event's 'C' consols heat after registering the 17th and 21st times in the preliminary heats.

A trio of Mountaineers will get on the blocks for the 100 freestyle heats. Lambert, with a prelims time of 53.13 seconds, will be joined in the 'B' consols by Joanna Swiderska (53.28), Lambert as the 12th seed and Swiderska as the 15th seed.

In the 100 free 'C' heat it will be Madi Zach (54.15) whose time was 21st in the prelims session.

All but the fastest seeded heat of the timed final 1,650 free were swum at the tail end of the prelims session, and in the first heat Western's Morgan Nielsen blew away the heat.

She lapped everyone in the field to finish with a new school record time of 17:15.51. With only the top eight seeds left to swim in the event, Nielsen is guaranteed at least ninth place.

As well, AvaMarie Hopewell (18:20.17) was sixth fastest in the morning, Sidney-Ann Morris (18:26.58, career best time) was seventh, and Sophia Del Rosario (18:49.56) was 10th. Those times and places assure each of final positions no lower than 14th, 15th and 18th, respectively.

The final event of the night and of the championship meet will be the 400 free relay, with Western entering both A and B relays as it seeks to hold on to its fourth-place standing in the team standings.