FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – The Washington State University swim team concluded the third day of competition at the 2015 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships in eighth place, Friday. The Cougars set 10 career-best marks, qualified seven swimmers for the evening’s finals session, and finished the day with 234.5 points, ahead of Oregon State (213).
“It was a good day today,” WSU Head Coach Tom Jager said. “The team swam well after we faced some adversity with the disqualification [in the 100 breast]. We responded by delivering great swims in the next event. We’re looking forward to finishing strong tomorrow.”
In the preliminary heats of the 100 fly, freshman Anna Brolin swam a career-best time of 54.29 seconds, only to best the mark in the ‘C’ final with a time of 54.18 seconds. The time is the fifth-fastest in program history and an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying mark. Brolin tied for fourth (20th overall) in the final, earning the Cougars 4.5 points.
Led by senior Alison Mand, the Cougars qualified three swimmers for the ‘C’ final in the 100 back. Mand clocked a prelim time of 55.55 seconds, followed by Hannah Bruggman with a career-best time of 55.80 seconds, and junior Shaya Schaedler in 56.79 seconds. In the finals, Mand notched a season-best time of 55.50 seconds, finishing second (18th overall) in the ‘C’ final. Bruggman set a career mark in the final with a time of 55.70 seconds to finish fifth (21st overall). Schaedler also broke her personal-best, clocking a time of 56.03 seconds to finish 23rd. The trio earned the Cougars 13 points. Bruggman and Schaedler’s times rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in WSU history.
The Cougars qualified two swimmers for the finals of the 400 IM. Junior Presley Wetterstrom clocked a time of 4:24.71 followed by junior Loree Olson with a time of 4:25.00. Wetterstrom went on to shave nearly one second off of her career mark, touching the wall in 4:23.39 to finish second (18th overall) in the ‘C’ final. The time is the eighth-fastest time in WSU history. Olson followed closely behind with a time of 4:23.75 in third (19th overall). The duo contributed 13 points to the WSU total.
Junior Frederikke Hall qualified for the ‘C’ final of the 100 breast with a qualifying time of 1:02.86, but suffered a false start in the final. Wetterstrom just missed the cut for the finals, clocking a prelim time of 1:04.00.
In the afternoon session, senior Nicole Proulx swam the fastest 200 free of her career, with a time of 1:49.69. The time ranks seventh on the WSU all-time list. Freshman Rachel Thompson finished 0.43 seconds back from Proulx in 1:50.12. Sophomores Elise Locke and Emma Elhoff both clocked their fastest times of the season, finishing in 1:51.00 and 1:55.62, respectively.
In the final event of the evening, WSU’s 400 medley relay team of Mand, Hall, Brolin, and Proulx touched the wall in 3:43.42 to secure an eighth-place finish and earn the Cougars 44 points.
The Pac-12 Championships conclude Saturday with events beginning at 11 a.m. in the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center. Fans can follow along live online at pac-12.com. Full results and recap will be available at wsucougars.com at the conclusion of Saturday’s events.
