The Crimson squad defeated the White team 57-38.
Source: NMSU Athletics
NM State officially opened its new season as they began the year with the annual Crimson and White intrasquad meet. Following 11 events, the Crimson team earned a 57-38 victory as it landed 13 podium finishes, including four first-place finishes.
Following a pre-meet speech from Head Coach Rick Pratt who begins his 20th year at the helm, the Aggies took to the pool for the 200 medley relay that featured a quartet of individuals from each side. Ultimately, the White team posted a time of 1:46.16 to earn a narrow victory by less than three-tenths of a second.
The first individual event was the 500 free in which Katie Rink (5:03.29) and Naomi Slee (5:07.26) finished first and second, respectively. Then, freshman Dijana Mazudmar clinched the top spot in the 100 free with a time of 51.98 – a time that would have registered as the fastest time for any Aggie last year. Meanwhile, Kira Brownell and Caroline Constantini finished second and third with times of 53.39 and 53.75, respectively.
This was followed by a first-place finish from Kodi Wiman who posted the fastest time in the 200 IM – finishing at 2:11.43. Also in the 200 IM, Riley Crespo came in second with a time of 2:13.03 and Lina Khiyara placed third with a time of 2:16.54.
Faye McDonagh posted the fastest time in a 100 fly race that the top three finishers all finished within one second of each other. McDonagh’s time of 58 seconds came in just ahead of Ellen Osthelder (58.92) and Estel Galo (58.97).
Following the 100 fly, the divers took to the boards for the 1-meter dive. Freshman Addison Pastiak led the way with a final score of 78.00 points while Mira Tinani finished second (75.50 points) and Peytton Moore secured third (73.50).
Dijana Mazumdar then doubled her number of first-place finishes with another gold in the 50 free – reaching the wall at 23.94. Meanwhile, Kira Brownell’s time of 24.46 was good for second place and Caroline Constantini’s time of 24.65 placed third to set the same podium as the 100 free.
The next event featured Emily Dobbins who swam a 58.15 to earn first place in the 100 back. She was followed by Anna Uren (1:00.99) and Jamie Puhalski (1:01.97), respectively.
After her success in the 500 free, Katie Rink battled her way to a first-place finish in the 200 free – finishing with a time of 1:53.66 to secure the top spot. Naomi Slee also claimed her second second-place finish with a time of 1:56.36 while Dreamer Kowatch tallied her first podium finish of the day with a time of 1:58.44.
Kodi Wiman picked up the win in the final individual event as she reached the wall first in the 100 breast with a time of 1:05.82. Closely behind Wiman was Faye McDonagh(1:06.79) and Foteini Charitou (1:06.82) who rounded out the top three.
The 200 free relay would wrap things up on Friday afternoon as the Crimson A squad came from behind to win the race with a time of 1:37.06 while the White A team finished second with a time of 1:38.04.
The Aggies’ opening weekend will continue on Saturday as they host the Alumni Meet featuring former Aggies from around the country. The Alumni Meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the NM State Swim and Dive Complex.
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