Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
WAC Championships
Swimming and Diving Ranks Fourth Heading Into Final Day of Championships
3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 1, 2002
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Fresno State completed day three of the 2002 Western Athletic Conference Championships on Friday, March 1, in San Antonio, Texas. The team finished with 325 points to put themselves in fourth place heading into the final day of competition.
The first event of the evening was the 400 IM, in that event, two Bulldogs tied for 11th place. Junior Bethany Starkweather (Plano, Texas) and junior Jessica Klenner (Mission Viejo, Calif.) both touched at 4:34.69. The next event was the 100 fly, which featured freshman Jolene Valley (Bend, Ore.). She finished seventh in the prelims with a personal-best time of 57.88, a time that also leads the team. Her time of 58.78 inked her eighth place overall in the finals. The third event was the 200 free, which featured freshman Melissa Johnson (Vacaville, Calif.). Johnson entered the finals with an eighth place prelim time of 1:53.37. Her finals time of 1:54.30 put her in seventh place overall. The 100 breast was the fourth event of the evening. Sophomore Greer McGettrick (Studio City, Calif.) was the top Bulldog entering the finals. She finished eighth in the prelims with a personal-best 1:05.52, a time that is also ranked third on Fresno State's all-time best list. She finished in eighth place overall in the finals as well with a time of 1:06.09. The final individual swimming event was the 100 back. Again, a freshman represented the Bulldogs in the final heat, freshman Carolyn Wigginton (Carmichael, Calif.) advanced with a second place prelim time of 57.08. Her finals time of 57.20 gave her third place overall. Her placing was the highest of any Bulldog in the finals thus far in the championships. In the only relay of the evening, the 400 medley, the 'Dogs recorded a time of 3:51.78 to earn fifth place.
For the divers, sophomore Nicole Recupito (Kokomo, Ind.) was the only Bulldog to advance in the top eight of the 3-meter springboard. She placed eighth in the prelims with a score of 376.55 to advance her into the finals. Recupito's final dive earned a score of 384.85 points to earn eighth place.
The Bulldogs will compete in the final day of the championships Saturday, March 2, beginning with prelims in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 1650 free and the platform dive. Finals begin at 6:30 p.m., with the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform and the 400 free relay. Finals will begin at 6:30 p.m. Complete results will be available on the WAC website at www.wacsports.com or at www.aaaa-sa.org.
Standings After Day Three
1. SMU (560 pts.)
2. Nevada (530 pts.)
3. Rice (365 pts.)
4. Fresno State (325 pts.)
5. Hawai'i (257 pts.)
6. San Jose State (246 pts.)
Head Coach Daniella Irle (Thoughts on the Meet)
"Our freshmen performed outstanding today. Valley, Johnson and Wigginton all made the finals and placed. Wigginton's third place finish was huge. Diving has been consistent as well, Nicole came through today and improved on her personal-best in the 3-meter."
