HOUSTON, Texas - The Washington State swim team continued to rewrite the WSU record book at the final day of the Phill Hansel Invitational hosted by the University of Houston, Sunday.
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"Today was the most exciting for our team at this invite. We improved throughout the day and the results really showed that," said head coach Matt Leach. "I couldn't be more proud for our program. We had a school record, five total NCAA "B" times and we also had 15 top-10 all-time performances and multiple season-best times. Tonight the team was amazing, and it was so much fun to see them enjoying each other's company and cheering each other on. It was a very good team performance this weekend."
Freshman Keiana Fountaine continued to be a driving force in the pool for the Cougars, etching her name in the records books with a program record 49.62 in the 100 free. Fountaine's time earned her a fourth-place finish at the invitational, and was her 22nd individual top-five performance this season. Fountaine was also a member of the sixth place 400 free relay team. Alongside teammates Emily Barrier, Payton Bokowy, and Chloe Larson, the team clocked a team-best 3:24.84.
Sophomores Taylor McCoy and Mackenzie Duarte added their names to another top-10 list. McCoy placed second in the 200 back and hit an NCAA "B" Standard time with a 1:56.86 - second-fastest in program history. The Pullman, Wash. native now holds a top-10 time in three individual events. Duarte saw an NCAA "B" Standard time in the 200 breast with a dominating 2:11.84. The Walnut Creek, Calif. native placed second at the invitational and now holds the second-fastest time in program history in the event.
Freshman Lauren Burckel etched her name in another top-10 list with a 2:15.13 in the 200 breast. Burckel's time is eighth-fastest in program history, and garnered her a tenth place finish at the invitational.
Junior Luci Brock hit two season-best times in her respective events. The Edmonds, Wash. native clocked a 2:08.84 in the 200 back. Brock also led the way for the Cougars in the 200 fly preliminaries with a 2:07.62. Sophia Balmaceda hit a season-best in the 200 fly with a 2:14.96.
"The biggest thing I'm excited for moving forward is a great team performance and team dynamic," said Leach. "There are certain things that we try to instill in everyone on the team; and that is that hard work pays off and you have to be a great teammate. Those are the fundamentals we're going to take with us from this meet and into the rest of the season. We have a lot more to go, but our team dynamic is one thing that we needed to move ourselves forward and get better as a program. All-in-all, we had a great weekend of racing. Go Cougs!"
