IOWA CITY, Iowa – Junior Presley Wetterstrom set a school record in the 200 breaststroke, as the Washington State swim team concluded competition at the Hawkeye Invitational. Wetterstrom's time of 2:12.96 in the prelims of the event shaved 0.40 seconds off the previous record held by Elyse Peterson (2:13.36, Feb. 28, 2009). The record was the second school record to fall at Iowa's annual event, as the Cougars also set a program record in the 200 free relay (1:31.56) in the opening day of competition. WSU swimmers set 12 personal bests in the final day of the invite, adding to 37 personal bests set in the opening two days of the meet.
“We swam well today,” WSU Head Coach Tom Jager said. “The team finished the meet strong. We accomplished our goal of having a great final day. We're pleased, but certainly not satisfied. We're ready to get back to Pullman and improve for the next competition.”
In the A-final of the 200 breast, Wetterstrom (2:13.07) notched a fourth-place finish, while junior Frederikke Hall turned in a fifth-place time of 2:15.49. The time is personal best and the fifth-fastest time in Cougar history. Both juniors' times are NCAA 'B' qualifying marks. The pair contributed 29 points to WSU's total.
Fellow junior Loree Olson took second place in the A-final of the 200 back. The Rocklin, Calif., native touched the wall in 1:59.58, just ahead of teammate Shaya Schaedler in fourth place. Schaedler's time of 1:59.99 is a personal best and placed her sixth on the Cougar all-time top-10 list.
The Cougars also garnered a second-place finish in the 200 fly, as sophomore Kendra Griffin clocked a time of 2:02.31. Griffin qualified for the A-final with a personal best of 2:01.50 in the prelims – the third-fastest performance in WSU history. Fellow sophomore Elise Locke followed closely behind with the fourth-fastest time in program history and a personal-best time of 2:02.59. Locke took third place in the A-final, as the duo grabbed the Cougars 33 points in the event.
The finals of the 100 free featured seven Cougar swimmers. In the A-final, junior Nicole Proulx clocked a time of 50.80, just beating out freshman Hannah Bruggman who turned in a personal-best time of 50.85. Bruggman's time is tied for the sixth-fastest performance in program history. Senior Alison Mand notched a first-place finish in the event's B-final. Mand finished in a time of 51.09 – a personal best and the 10th-fastest time in Cougar history. In total, WSU earned 47 points in the event.
In the final event of the evening, Washington State's 400 free relay team of Mand, Proulx, Thompson, and Bruggman earned a third-place finish with a time of 3:23.29. Mand's leadoff leg of 50.92 is a personal best for the 100 free and the 10th-fastest time in Cougar history. The WSU quartet earned 32 points.
In the 1650 free, Griffin turned in a time of 16:58.04. The seventh-place finish earned the sophomore 12 points. Griffin was followed by sophomore Emma Ronczkowski in ninth place. Ronczkowski finished in 17:20.99 and contributed nine points to the WSU total.
Anna Brolin took first place in the 200 fly B-final. The freshman out of Gilroy, Calif., clocked the seventh-fastest time in WSU history and set a personal best with a time of 2:04.38.
The Cougars earned 628.5 points in the meet and finished in third place. Host-school Iowa won the invitational with 1,015.5 points, followed by Denver (793) in second. Milwaukee finished fourth in the competition with 390 points. Washington State continues its season Jan. 23, 2015, traveling to face Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. The meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
