FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Senior Nicole Proulx set a school record in the 100 free, as the Washington State University swim team concluded its 2014-15 season, Saturday, at the Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships. The Cougars set 39 season-best times in the four-day event, including 31 lifetime bests, two school records (100 free and 200 free relay), and 10 NCAA qualifying marks. Washington State finished the championships in eighth place with 369.5 points, ahead of Oregon State (286).
Senior Nicole Proulx closed her WSU career by breaking the school record in the 100 free with a lifetime best of 49.75 seconds. Proulx's time shaved 0.06 off of the previous record held by former Olympian Rugile Mileisyte (49.81). The Anaheim, Calif., native took second (18th overall) in the 'C' final to earn the Cougars seven points.
In addition to Proulx, five Cougars set lifetime bests in the preliminary heats of the 100 free. Sophomore Haley Rose Love clocked a career-best time of 50.74 seconds, the sixth-fastest time in program history. Freshman Hannah Bruggman and senior Alison Mand added career bests of 50.76 and 50.84, respectively, the seventh- and eighth-fastest times in Cougar history.
“We crushed it today,” WSU Head Coach Tom Jager said. “I'm very proud of this team. This year has been a great experience for everyone. They got it done today as a team and it's so fun to be a part of.”
In the 200 back, junior Loree Olson qualified for the 'B' final with a time of 1:58.67. The time is a season best for Olson and an NCAA 'B' qualifying mark. In the evening finals, Olson clocked a time of 1:58.90 to finish 15th overall and contribute 12 points to the WSU total. Fellow junior Shaya Schaedler just missed the cut for the evening session, with a time of 2:00.44. Freshmen Talisa Wibmer and Rachel Thompson set career-best marks in the preliminary heats with times of 2:03.45 and 2:03.70, respectively.
Washington State opened the evening session with a pair of lifetime bests in the 1650 free. Sophomore Kendra Griffin shaved over 16 seconds off of her previous personal best, clocking a time of 16:40.64. Griffin's performance, the second fastest in WSU history, earned the Scottsdale, Ariz., native a ninth-place finish and 20 points for the Cougars. Fellow sophomore Emma Elhoff also recorded a lifetime best, touching the wall in 17:05.07, the ninth-fastest time in WSU history. Elhoff contributed seven points to Washington State's point total.
After qualifying for the finals in the 200 fly, sophomore Kendra Griffin notched a 16th-place finish to earn WSU 11 points. Griffin qualified for the final with a prelim time of 2:00.16, a lifetime best and the third-fastest time in WSU history. Fellow sophomore Elise Locke qualified for the 'C' final, where she swam a career-best time of 1:59.61. The time is the second fastest in school history and gave Locke a first-place finish in the final (17th overall).
The Cougars qualified two swimmers for the evening session in the 200 breast. Junior Presley Wetterstrom clocked a prelim time of 2:14.42 to qualify for the 'B' final, where she shaved over one second off of her time to earn a third-place finish (11th overall). Wetterstrom's NCAA 'B' qualifying time of 2:13.24 earned the Cougars 16 points. Junior Frederikke Hall qualified for the 'C' final with a career-best time of 2:15.17. In the evening session, Hall swam a lifetime best of 2:14.54, the fourth-fastest time in WSU history and an NCAA 'B' qualifying time, to take first place (17th overall) in the 'C' final.
Washington State concluded the championships with an eighth-place finish in the 400 free relay. The Cougar quartet of Bruggman, Proulx, Mand, and Love set a season-best time of 3:22.04 and added 44 points to WSU's total.
With the conclusion of the Pac-12 Championships, Washington State finished its 2014-15 season. The Cougars garnered a 6-3 dual-meet record in the season, winning six-straight duals to close the season, and earned three conference victories for the first time in program history.
