FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 22, 2022) - The Lumberjacks found themselves tied with the New Mexico State Aggies after a close dual meet, with a final score of 132-132.
In front of an energetic crowd at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex Saturday morning, the 'Jacks showed out for their seniors with one more dual meet for the last full home meet of the 2021-22 season.
Diving Highlights
- Victoria Knapp placed first in both 1-meter and 3-meter boards for the 'Jacks, finishing with 289.54 on the 1m and 299.40 on the 3m.
- Senior Aly Jones recorded a second place finish for the team in the 1m dives with a score of 267.30 and a fourth place finish in the 3m dives with a score of 263.70.
- Emily Luberto found her rhythm on the 3m boards, placing second with a score of 289.95, and came in fourth on the 1m boards with 260.55.
Swimming and Highlights
- The Lumberjacks held tight with the Aggies throughout the meet, starting off with a top-three finish in the 100 backstroke. Annie Carlton placed third, coming in at 59.11.
- Haley Mayhew claimed second place in the 100 breaststroke at 1:06.12, Senior Abbie Nelson placed fourth for the 'Jacks, coming in at 1:06.74.
- The 100 butterfly proved to be strong for NAU as Caylah Jago placed first at 56.93, followed by Ashley Lawrence at 57.75.
- The Lumberjacks swept the distance race of the 1000 free, with Casey Craffey placing first at 10:45.68, Helena Robla-Alvarez in second at 10:59.99, and Francesca Criscione in third at 11:05.18.
- Maddy Rey came up big for the Lumberjacks with a first place finish in the 200 fly, finishing the race at 2:06.89, followed by Lawrence who placed second at 2:08.61.
- Cralton recorded another top-three finish, with second place in the 200 backstroke at 2:06.67.
- The 500 free was another strong race for the 'Jacks as Craffey placed first with a time of 5:16.43, followed by Robla-Alvarez in second at 5:20.96. Senior Astrid Villeda placed fourth for NAU at 5:25.17.
- Mayhew and Delaney Phillips added two top-three finishes for NAU in the 200 breaststroke as Mayhew placed first at 2:24.05 and Phillips placed second at 2:26.17.
- Finishing the meet up, NAU's 'A' relay team placed second in the only relay event of the day. Carlton, Craffey, Koehn, and Rey finished second at 7:59.27.
Quotable | Head Coach Andy Johns
"There was a lot of good energy, today was all about our seniors and celebrating them. We've got a ton of work to do ahead of conference, but I'm really proud of everyone's efforts and really happy for our seniors. We're looking forward to the next month, to get sharp and to prepare for what's going to be a great battle at the conference championships."
Quotable | Head Diving Coach Nikki Kelsey
"I did like to see that we had a lot better taps and directions with the dives, we need to clean up our entires but I like where we're at right now. I was really happy to see Aly Jones with two good meets after injury, Victoria, Emily, and Maegan Jensen did great jobs, it was especially nice to see Aly shine in her senior meet."
Up Ahead
NAU Diving will host the second Lumberjack Diving Invite of the year Feb.4-6 at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The Lumberjacks will then gear up for the WAC Championships that will be held in Houston, Texas Feb 23-26 and will be streamed on ESPN+.
