FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 24, 2020) – For the seventh straight year, the Northern Arizona swimming and diving team kept their Western Athletic Conference title streak alive after earning seven gold medals and breaking one school record.
Jenny Cheetham set the tone on day one for the rest of the WAC Championships when she conquered the 1-meter board with 297.70 points.
The 'Jacks found their next win from
Elisa Rodriguez, who took first in the 50 freestyle with a 22.81 mark. Rodriguez found her second first-place finish on the final day, finishing the 100 freestyle in 49.24.
Hope Williams continued the gold medal trend for Northern Arizona, swimming her way to first in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:01.75 finish.
The 'Jacks saw success across all classes when freshman
Lainie Bell experienced triumph in her first WAC Championships. Bell edged out the competition in both the 100 backstroke (54.75) and 200 backstroke (1:56.94). She now holds NAU's second-fastest time in both the 100 and 200 back.
NAU's final event win came in the 400 medley relay where
Sarah O'Connor, Williams,
Maddie Seidl and Rodriguez posted a time of 3:40.99.
The Lumberjacks set a new school record in the 200 medley relay with O'Connor, Williams, Rodriguez and
Miranda Nichols swimming a time of 1:40.82, breaking the previous school record set in 2013.
After capturing their seventh straight hardware, the divers moved onto NCAA Zones, where Cheetham earned her first NCAA bid, combining for a score of 537.80 on the 1-meter springboard. Cheetham was then honored by the CSCAA, earning a spot on the All-American team for her performance this season.
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"We are certainly pleased with how the season culminated in our seventh straight WAC title and with
Jenny Cheetham qualifying for NCAAs and subsequently being named All-American. Winning championships and getting to NCAAs are always going to be priorities for this program and we are proud to have accomplished both this year. In addition, our student-athletes continue to be outstanding in the classroom, posting a 3.51 GPA for the fall semester with 27 of them being named Gold Eagle Scholar-Athletes. Overall, the season was filled with ups and downs and more injuries and illness than we would like to see, but somehow that adversity prepared us well for the unexpected schedule changes that happened during the conference meet when a water line broke and forced an entire change to the format of the meet. Our team did a tremendous job of adapting to the new and much different competition schedule. Competing with no spectators in the stands on Friday at the WAC meet was a precursor to the following week's many basketball tournaments and subsequent spring sports seasons being canceled due to the coronavirus. Undoubtedly, we are most disappointed that Jenny was unable to compete at her first NCAA Championships. We are very proud of Coach
Nikki Huffman and all of the divers for the continued excellence they maintain as the best in the conference, while also contending on the national stage." – Head Coach
Andy Johns
