March 7, 2019
After winning nine individual events, the Northern Arizona University swimming and diving team not only left the Houston meet this past weekend as six-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) champions but also broke several school records along the way.
Over the course of the four-day meet, the Lumberjacks racked up 772.5 points, outdistancing themselves from the New Mexico State runner-ups by nearly 200 points. The NAU seniors are the third class to have won a championship every year.
“The coaching staff is extremely proud of all our girls,” NAU head coach Andy Johns said. “They came in and had the mindset to get better every day. It was never about chasing the Championship, but we knew if we worked hard and did everything right the result would be a championship.”
Three days into the meet, the Lumberjacks had racked up 568.5 points—with some of the team’s best events still ahead, including the 1650-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter butterfly.
The final race of the WAC Championship was the 400-meter freestyle relay, where NAU placed second. Elisa Rodriguez, Monique King, Katy Smith and Miranda Nichols completed the event with a time of 3:21.53.
In total, NAU won four of the six events on day four.
Tatiana Kurach took home two wins on the boards, and Rodriguez and Hope Williams also won two individual medals apiece in the pool.
The team will be back in Flagstaff, March 11-13, for the last time this season, where the Lumberjack divers will compete in the Zone Diving competition.
A full list of rankings and photos from the event can be found online.
