Air Force Academy
Wyoming
Falcons split dual with Wyoming
10/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams split a dual meet against conference rival Wyoming, Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Academy's Cadet Natatorium. The men defeated Wyoming, 156.50-143.50, marking the third straight year the Falcons beat the Cowboys. On the women's side, Wyoming beat Air Force, 163.50-131.50. The men improved to 5-0 overall this season while the women fell to 2-4.
The men jumped ahead right away by winning the 200 medley relay as the team of Joey Gebhart, Zach Knoche, Steffen Mount and Jordan Dahle swam a time of 1:29.94. Senior Andrew Faciszewski won the 1000 free (9:41.95). Air Force took the top three spots in the 200 free as Dahle was first (1:41.66), Ben Brockman was second (1:41.98) and Michael Hannigan was third (1:43.12). Kris Tillery won the 100 back stroke (50.50). In the men's 50 free, Lars Knutson won (20.32) and Mount was second (20.34). The Falcons also took the top three spots in the 100 free as Dahle won (44.76), Hannigan was second (45.39) and Blake Lawrie (45.93). Mount also won the 100 fly (49.30). The men closed out the meet by winning the 400 free relay as the team of Knutson, Hannigan, Dahle and Mount posted a time of 3:00.13.
Freshman Lydia Knutson set the women's school record in the 50 free with a time of 23.22. Senior Genevieve Miller continued her dominance in the distance free events, winning the 1000 free (10:23.59), the 200 free ( 1:52.02) and the 500 free (5:01.58). Freshman Elizabeth Rivenbark won the 100 back (58.32). Air Force took the top three sports in the 200 IM as junior Jinan Andrews won (2:11.07), freshman Jayden Glover was second (2:11.72) and sophomore Emma Strom (2:15.90). The team of Miller, Tianna Jorgenson, Knutson and Andrews won the 400 free relay with a time of 3:31.17.
"We had a lot of big swims leading us to the win," assistant coach Anthony Boettcher said. "We got an early lead, but Wyoming came back and made us sweat it at the end. It came down to the final race of the day and we won the 400 free relay. Wyoming is such a tenacious team. They are very well coached and we have a ton of respect for them. They are always a good team and we just wanted to make sure we touched the wall first more than they did and we were able to do that. The biggest thing I'll take away is our senior leadership. Jordan Dahle won two events and was part of both relay wins. Kris Tilley had to come from behind to win the 100 back as he used great technique in touching the wall first. We had some outstanding performances as our second, third and fourth guys really showed the depth of our team.
The men are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 5 as the Falcons will host a dual against Grand Canyon at 1 pm at the Cadet Natatorium. The women are back in action Nov. 4-5 at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.
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Players Mentioned
