FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 2, 2026) - The Northern Arizona swimming and diving team hosted their annual Blue vs. Gold competition at the Wall Aquatic Center this afternoon. The Gold team reclaimed their title with 59-45 over Blue.
Seven of the 12 events had Gold members claim first, though Blue claimed the first event. The Blue beat Gold in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45.55, which was a two second difference compared to Gold's 1:47.72.
Gold moved on to claim the next two events, starting off with 200 freestyle, Cody Monajjem clocked 1:56.11. The 50 freestyle saw two Gold members with top two finishes, including Kokona Watanabe (23.74) and Camryn Brown (24.34).
True freshman and 2026 Pentathlon winner, Hannah Rutten clocked 2:07.59 in the 200 individual medley for Blue, putting her over two seconds ahead of Blue's Allie Hayes and Gold's Kaci Kelaher (2:09.71). Rutten also claimed first in the 500 freestyle with 5:10.19, while Gold's Ivy Haggerty clocked 5:18.51.
Hayes saw first in the 100 backstroke (57.73) with her fellow Blue team member, Lily Powell finishing second with a time of 58.69. In the 100 breaststroke Blue's Treslie Dance secured first, clocking 1:04.41, with Gold's Mariana Diaz-Ponce less than one second behind (1:05.12).
Gold did not give Blue much leeway by topping the 100 butterfly with Kelaher's 56.07 and 100 freestyle with Watanabe's 52.27. Gold closed out the competition with a win in 200 freestyle relay, clocking 1:35.33 over Blue.
On the boards, Rebeca Arrechedera claimed first in the 1-meter dive (295.20) and 3-meter dive (314.25) for Gold team. Gold's Elizabeth Lillie saw second in 1-meter dive (246.31) and Blue's Avalon Johnson in 3-meter dive (269.62).
"This is a step to get us to next week," head coach Andy Johns said. "We want to give them a battle and I think we got some spots where we're going to definitely be able to do that."
Next week, the Lumberjacks will host Arizona State on Oct. 9, marking their first official dual meet of the 2026-27 season.
Stay up to date with the Northern Arizona women's swimming and diving team by following the Lumberjacks on Instagram and X.
