FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. ( September 23, 2022) - For the second consecutive season, a true freshman won the annual NAU swimming and diving pentathlon, as Gracie Munk claimed her title with 3,610 points total.
"It's awesome, I think there's a lot of wondering during these first three weeks being at altitude, so for the freshman to step up and see that they belong here really helps the next phase of what we're getting into," Head Coach Andy Johns said.
Munk had four top three finishes out of the meets five total events. The freshman placed first in the 100 SCM backstroke, second in the 100 SCM freestyle, third in the 100 SCM fly, and third in the 200 SCM IM. Munk finished the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:05.35, just about a second off of the pentathlon record in the event.
The pentathlon, consisting of five events and four heats for each event, also included the 100 SCM breaststroke. This is typically the only event of the year that the team will swim short course meters, allowing the swimmers and coaching staff to get an early evaluation.
Senior Haley Mayhew placed second for the second year in a row. Mayhew won the event her freshman year, and has put up tough competition in the meet every season of her NAU career. The senior earned 3,420 points total today, with her best race coming in the 100 breaststroke as Mayhew placed first with a time of 1:16.63.
Annie Carlton brought in a third place finish with 3,230 points total. Carlton earned two third place finishes in both the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke events, while adding a fourth place finish in the 100 fly. Carlton's best time came in the 100 free, as she finished at 1:01.43.
Freshman Elsa Musselman placed fourth in total with a final score of 3,180. Musselman's best race of the day came in the 100 fly as she came in second at 1:05.24, just behind Caylah Jago who earned first with 1:04.40.
The 'Jacks had a three way tie for fifth place as Maddy Rey, Abigail Tashlein, and Bena Koehn each finished the day with 3,120 points. Rey placed first in the 200 IM, finishing at 2:24.10. Tashlein raced her way to two top five finishes in both the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. Koehn earned her moment in the pool, finishing first in the 100 free, as her final time broke under a minute at 59.99.
"For our upperclassmen it's really important to see some progress from year to year and most of them are trending upward, it's nice to see everybody racing again," Johns said.
The Swimming and Diving team will be back at it on Oct. 7 as they face one another in the annual blue vs. goal meet in the Wall Aquatic Center.
