HOUSTON, Texas (February 28, 2020) – After the water break in Houston yesterday afternoon, the Lumberjacks competed in the third day of the Western Athletic Conference Championship, swimming every event as finals. Northern Arizona wrapped up the third day in first place, with 432.5 points.
The first event, the 200 freestyle relay,
Elisa Rodriguez,
Lainie Bell,
Lauren Hazel and
Miranda Nichols sent their team to a third-place finish with a time of 1:32.62 behind California Baptist (1:31.26) and New Mexico State University (1:32.12).
Niamh McDonagh, in the 400 IM, brought home the silver medal for the Lumberjacks after hitting the wall at 4:19.56, after Northern Colorado's Petra Kis pulled ahead in the freestyle leg, finishing 4:18.63.
Astrid Villeda helped earn points for the 'Jacks after she finished ninth with a time of 4:28.90.
In the 100 fly, four swimmers contributed to Northern Arizona's day score.
Maddie Seidl took seventh place after finishing at 54.97. Just behind her, Rodriguez placed eighth with 55.05. Further down, in 11th,
Lauren Hazel finished the event with a 55.51 time, and
Kate Bier wrapped up in 13th at 65.08.
Hope Williams was the first champion of the meet, taking the gold in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.75 and earning a new season best time. William's previous best time was found in November, being 1:02.72.
The second champion was freshman
Lainie Bell in the 100 backstroke. Earning her first gold medal, Bell tied for first with a time of 54.75, besting her previous time of 55.45. She now holds the second fastest all-time NAU performance in the event.
Finishing up the 400 medley relay, the Lumberjacks found their last gold medal of the day, hitting the wall at 3:40.99.
Sarah O'Connor, Williams, Seidl and Rodriguez were able to pull ahead of the other seven teams to swim for their best relay time this season.
On the diving platforms,
Jenny Cheetham had a first-place preliminary score on the 3-meter of 283.50. In the finals, Cheetham finished second, earning her second silver medal from the WAC Championships. In third for the finals,
Emily Sharrer earned a 280.65 tally after finishing fifth in prelims with 263.50 points.
Emily Luberto finished in fourth for prelims at 265.05, but ultimately took seventh in finals, tallying 230.40 points.
For the final day tomorrow, the schedule remains tentative and is dependent on the water break situation. For now, there will be preliminary swims beginning at 9:30 a.m., with diving starting at 11:15 a.m. The 1650 freestyle race starts at 2 p.m., and senior recognition will begin at 4:45 p.m., followed by the finals for all events. Seniors
Alice Hick,
Fernanda Montiel,
Erin Spielman and Bier will all be honored.
