Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Mountain West Championships
Recap: Rams finish eighth at Mountain West Championships
2/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Final Team Scores 
| Complete Results
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Colorado State Rams swimming & diving team took eighth at the 2016 Mountain West Championships, scoring 223 points over the four-day event. The Rams beat out Air Force and Fresno State, and improved on their score from the 2015 meet by over 50 points.
The Rams persevered all week, and that was presented well in the final event of the championship, the 400 free relay. Competing in the first heat of the final, knowing that only a disqualification would really harm their score, the Rams rallied from last in the heat late to finish second in the segment (eighth overall) with a strong last push led by sophomore Katie Kicklighter.
“We knew going into the final relay that only a DQ would really hurt us,” CSU Head Coach Christopher Woodard said. “I told the girls to be very careful with their starts and they could have easily just accepted a last-place finish. But to climb from last to eighth at the end just shows that we’re going to fight until the end.”
CSU received a pair of seventh-place finishes on the day, with junior Jenna Beaury taking seventh with an NCAA B cut time of 2:15.48 in the 200 Breast. Freshman Ida Donohue took seventh in the 1650 Free, finishing in a personal-best 16:48.92. Junior Gabby Morley also scored in the 1650 Free, placing 13th in a season-best 17:04.61.
Kicklighter added points for CSU with a 12th-place result in the 100 Free, scoring the top mark of the year for the Rams in the discipline with a 50.17.
“We set out to accomplish quite a few goals,” Woodard said. “Some we missed on, but some were right on the money. Mostly, I’m just glad we’re scoring more points here. We’re excited. We’ll take some time off when we get back, and then we’ll be right back working on getting ready for next year.”
Woodard and his staff appreciated the improvements his team made, and also how multiple freshmen stepped up and scored points for CSU.
“I am really impressed,” Woodard said. “I think what it means is that we’re doing something right as a program and that we’re going in the right direction. It’s going to be hard to lose these seniors, but seeing the underclassmen perform the way they did makes it feel a little better.”
Nevada took home the team title, holding off Boise State in a battle that lasted all the way into the final relay. Complete results for each day, along with highlights and photos, can be found at the Mountain West Championship Central.
