Ashley earns All-Conference honors to cap big night for Air Force

HOUSTON- On Friday, Air Force scored 257 team points, vaulting the Falcons from eighth to sixth in the team standings at the 2024 Mountain West Championships.

"It was an absolutely amazing night of swimming for our team," said head swimming coach Colleen Murphy. "We had 18 second swims which is an amazing accomplishment. From top to bottom, our team stepped up and competed."

The highlight of the evening came via Anna Ashley, as the C1C earned All-Conference honors in the 100 Backstroke following an eighth-place finish in the event.

Ashley produced a 55.07 in the preliminary round, the fourth-best time in the swim in program history to earn Air Force's first championship slot. There, Ashley finished with a 55.41, worth 22 team points.

Also taking part in the 100 Backstroke, Kai-Min Tsuei (55.05) placed 11th while Allana Clarke (55.76) finished 14th, as the two combined for 28.50 points. Clarke's preliminary time of 55.59 moved her up from eighth to seventh in the Air Force record book.

The 100 Butterfly gave Air Force the chance to showcase Clarke, as well as Amber Martin.

Martin, a freshman, was victorious in the "B" final of the swim, closing with a 54.20. The C4C now owns the third-best 100 Butterfly time in Air Force history. Clarke was just behind Martin, placing 10th following her 54.66. The two brought the Falcons 37 team points.

The 100 Butterfly also saw Shayla Markle (55.29), Abigail Hardy (55.77), and Ashley (56.37) present the Falcons with 28 team points.

Maeve Linscott gave the Falcons an all-time personal performance, as the sophomore got better as the day went along. The Kansan earned a spot in the consolation finals of the 100 Breaststroke following a preliminary time of 1:02.90. She swam even quicker in her final chance, clocking in at 1:02.44 to place 10th-overall. Linscott's finals time now stands as the third-best time in the event in program history.

As well as Linscott, Naomi Furman would go on to finish in a share of 13th following her 1:03.07 in the consolation round. The duo paired together 30.50 points.

Alex Clark was the winner of the consolation finals of the 200 Freestyle, touching out at 1:48.90. The junior notched the program's third-best time in the Falcons record book following her concluding swim.

In the "C" finals of the 200 Freestyle, Abby Turner (1:49.87) and Ryan Mills (1:51.09) placed 17th and 20th, respectively, as the triumvirate helped serve the Falcons 34 team points.

The 400 IM saw Ella Martin place 14th (4:22.98), though her preliminary time of 4:21.82 improved her lifetime best in the swim. Lauren Arnold (4:28.09) and Hanani Dona (4:28.91) slotted in at 21st and 23rd, respectively.

In the day's opening relay, the Falcons finished fifth in the 200 Freestyle Relay. Mills, Clark, Tsuei, and Turner crafted a time of 1:32.44 to award their team 50 points.

"Our seniors have been really stepping up in their last Mountain West competition," said Murphy. "We are so proud of the way this team into the competition and rose to a new level today."

Next, the Falcons will wrap up the 2024 Mountain West Championships, with the preliminary round scheduled for 9:30 am MT before the championship swims begin at 5:00 pm MT.

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