OKLAHOMA CITY - Three-time defending conference champion BYU leads the men's and women's field with 620 and 446 points, respectively, after day three at the Mountain West Conference Swimming & Diving Championships at Oklahoma City Community College.
Air Force trails the Cougars in men's action with 403 points, followed by UNLV (395), Wyoming (369) and Utah (291). The Colorado State Rams hold the No. 2 spot in the women's events with 416.50 points, followed by UNLV (383), Utah (347), New Mexico (269), Air Force (220.50), Wyoming (210) and San Diego State (158).
The MWC Swimming & Diving Championships conclude Saturday, Feb. 22, following the 6 p.m. finals events and the announcement of the individual and team awards.
MWC Swimming & Diving Championships Notes:
UNLV sophomore Raluca Udroiu (Bucharest, Romania) set a new Mountain West Conference and UNLV school record in the women's 100-yard backstroke with a NCAA qualifying time of 54.60. The previous MWC record was 54.88 by Kristen Schneider (Colorado State) in 2001.
Wyoming sophomore Scott Usher (Grand Island, Neb.) set a new Mountain West Conference and Wyoming school record in the men's 100-yard breaststroke with a NCAA qualifying time of 54.24. The previous MWC record was 54.70 by Matt Ihlenfeld (Air Force) in 2001.
BYU junior Randy Belliston (Magna, Utah) set a new Mountain West Conference record in the men's 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:53.30. The previous record was 3:53.85 by Damian Storz (Wyoming) in 2002.
Utah junior Kristen Kaiser (St. Louis, Mo.) set a new Mountain West Conference and school record in the women's 400-yard individual medley with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:21.22. The previous record was 4:23.00 by Kaiser in 2001.
Colorado State set a new Mountain West Conference record in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay (1:33.15). The Rams captured their second title in the event in three years (2001 and 2003). The previous record was 1:33.67 by BYU in 2002.
Through three days of competition, 12 Mountain West Conference records have been broken: men's 50-yard free, men's 100-yard breast, men's 200- and 400-yard IM, men's 800-yard free relay, men's 200- and 400-yard medley relay, women's 100-yard backstroke, women's 200-yard free relay, women's 200- and 400-yard IM and women's 400-yard medley relay.
