OKLAHOMA CITY - The University of New Mexico swimming and diving team concluded a solid four-days at the Mountain West Conference Championships, finishing sixth overall with a total of 400 points. This was a vast improvement of its performance last year, where the team accumulated only 239 points and finished eighth. Seven school records fell over the four-day meet.
"I am very happy with how we performed this week," head coach Bill Spahn said. "We had some record swims, and our divers were outstanding. I was hoping there that we could have slid into the fifth spot on the last day, but regardless, I am happy with the outcome. This was a great group of girls to be around."
Of the seven records to fall, three were by relay teams and four were individual records. Quinn Michie beat her previous record in the 200 IM twice in one day, swimming a 2:05.09 in the finals to take fourth place. Kira Carbonneau broke the record in the 200 freestyle with her leadoff time of 1:52.52 while swimming the 800 freestyle relay. The biggest surprise might have come from freshman Nicole Overeem, who broke two records on the final day. Her time of 16:59.59 in the 1650 freestyle bested the previous record by 16 seconds, and her 1000 split time of 10:14.59 broke the record set by Sandra Colburn in last year's MWC Championships. Overeem finished third in the 1650.
Other records to fall came in the 800 freestyle relay (Carbonneau, Overeem, Colburn and Lindsay Jeter), the 200 freestyle relay (Michie, Carbonneau, Myra Will and Alison Bushkill) and the 400 freestyle relay (Michie, Will, Carbonneau and Lauren Doubrava).
The UNM divers also had a strong showing, with the duo combining for 96 of the team's 400 points and finishing in the top 5 in all three events. Freshman Becca Barras, a four-time MWC Diver of the Week, finished second in both the 1-Meter and 3-Meter Dives, and finished third on the platform. Sophomore Tracey Berghian finished right behind Barras on 1-Meter and 3-Meter, finishing third, and finished fifth on the platform.
"Both Becca and Tracey performed outstanding," diving coach Jeff DiNicola said. "Becca just missed out on winning the 3-meter, and both of them were right there throughout the meet. I couldn't have asked for anything more of them."
A breakdown of the individuals who placed in the top 16:
Becca Barras * Freshman
Second - 1 meter * Second - 3 meter * Third - platform
Tracey Berghian * Sophomore
Third - 1 meter * Third - 3 meter * Fifth - platform
