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Aggies hold steady in second place ahead of final day of WAC Championships.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Matthew Knope
Photo: Courtesy Western Athletic Conference
HOUSTON – NM State Swimming and Diving added to the trophy case on Friday at the 2025 WAC Championships. The Aggies clinched two more gold medals, both coming in individual swimming events. Emily Dobbins took the 100 back crown and Katie Rinkfinished first in the 200 free, headlining a day in which the unit added 160 points and three podium finishes, including Mira Tinani’s second-place showing on the platform dive.
The day began with the 100 fly prelims, where Faye McDonagh (55.34) earned a spot in the B Final as Ellen Osthelder, Dreamer Kowatch and Emma Bacon advanced to the C Final. Riley Crespo headlined the ensuing prelims for NM State, posting the third-best time in the 400 IM (4:23:15) and advancing to the A Final.
In the 200 free prelims, Kaite Rink (1:49.62) and Naomi Slee (1:50.59) eached earned spots in the A Final. Meanwhile, Dreamer Kowatch advanced to the B Final while Lina Khiyara and Dijana Mazumdar clinched spots in the C Final.
Kodi Wiman’s third-place time of 1:01.71 and Foteini Charitou’s eighth-place mark of 1:02.65 earned both sophomores a place in the 100 breast A Final. Faye McDonagh also wound up in the B Final of the same event.
Emily Dobbins (54.83) finished the 100 back prelims before the rest of the field, foreshadowing events to come. The final preliminary event of the day was on the 5m (platform) divers, where Mira Tinani (224.60) earned a spot in the A Final.
Faye McDonagh posted the third-fastest time in the 100 fly B Final with a 55.54 mark. The junior came in ahead of Ellen Osthelder and Dreamer Kowatch, in sixth and seventh of the C Final, respectively.
In the 400 IM, Riley Crespo led the way for NM State, posting a sixth-plaace time of 4:25.49. In the following women’s final, NM State returned to the podium, nearly doing so twice. Katie Rinkstruck gold with a 1:48.40 time in the 200 free. Naomi Slee was just behind third (1:49.76), missing a medal by less than a second. Dreamer Kowatch placed seventh in the B Finals and Lina Khiyara tallied a fourth-place outing in the C Final of the 200 free.
Kodi Wiman (sixth, 1:01.78) and Foteini Charitou (eighth, 1:02.53) each made A Final appearances in the 100 breast, followed up by Faye McDonagh (second, B) and Kathryn Gyde and Arleen Rumbaum (first/seventh, C) in the same event’s finals.
Kira Brownell and Anna Uren each appeared in the C Final of the 100 back, behind Thea Masselink’s eighth-place B Final showing. Emily Dobbins stole the headlines, however, as the Australian won the event outright with a 54.69 time.
In the final swimming event of the day, NM State picked up a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay. Dobbins was followed up by Wiman, McDonagh and Rink for a combined time of 3:42.41.
Meanwhile, Mira Tinani, who earlier advanced to the A Final of the platform dive, improved in the championship round. The sophomore posted a 239.45 to earn the silver medal in the 5m dive.
On Friday, the Aggies tallied 160 points, led by two first-place individual swimming finishes. Through three of four days, NM State is placed second place in the women’s team standings with 398 points. Northern Arizona leads the field with 531 points.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
“Today was a fight with the most events going on. Our team fought hard and put out some amazing efforts. Katie [Rink] and Emily [Dobbins]’ wins were amazing, as were so many other performances. Mira [Tinani]’s second place on tower was also incredible! It’s a very tight field headed into tomorrow, so we’re going to have to be really tough and resilient in the morning.”
UP NEXT
The WAC Championships roll on tomorrow for the final day from the University of Houston campus. Saturday’s finals events include the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay. NM State will hit the pool at 9:30 a.m. MT for the prelims of the 200 back and 2:40 p.m. for the 1650 free finals. Starting at 5:00 p.m., all events will be streamed live on ESPN+, capped off by the trophy presentation at approximately 8:05 p.m. MT. More information can be found at wacsports.com.
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