ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It all comes down to this. The event the University of New Mexico swimming and diving team has worked for months to reach has arrived: the Mountain West Championships in College Station, Texas.
Beginning on Wednesday and continuing through Saturday the Lobos will battle their Mountain West foes to earn the right to be named champion.
“Our team looks good,” head coach Kunio Kono said. “Both swimmers and divers look amazing. They have a deep confidence that they can do everything they can to be successful. We think we’re going to have an amazing week. It’s a great pool at Texas A&M so we’re excited.”
The Lobos have had several standout performers this season throughout their roster. Freshman Adriana Palomino jumped on the scene in a big way during her first year at UNM, winning 13 individual races in seven competitions. She won the 1,000 free and 200 free four times each, the 500 free three times, plus the 800 meter free and 400 meter free once each.
While Palomino dominated the endurance races, sophomore Morgan Ginnis dominated the sprint. Five times she swam the 50 free this year and four times she came away the winner. At the Winter Nationals in December she posted a time of 26.22 in the 50 meter free, and she fell just short of the cut for the Olympic trials by .03 seconds.
Senior Kristin Walker has held down the fort in the 100 and 200 breaststroke for UNM, winning six combined races in those two events this year. Junior Kaela McKee, probably the squad’s best backstroker, has been dynamite for UNM in multiple events. She always leads off for the UNM in its medley relays, and five times this year she has led UNM to wins in either to 200 or 400 medley relay. She has also won eight individual races with five wins in the 100 back and 3 in the 200 back. Showing off her versatility, she also helped UNM win the 200 free relay against CSU on Oct. 8, and she routinely swims butterfly events as well.
Freshman diver Allyson Concepcion has also been performing very well of late. Not only did she make the NCAA Zone cut in the 1-meter at Northern Arizona on Jan. 23 with a score of 284.33, but she made the cut in both the 1- and 3-meter the following week at home against New Mexico State. She scored 280.2 in the 3-meter and 273.53 in the 1-meter.
The Lobos will need every one of their swimmers and divers to perform at their best if they want a chance at downing the big dogs in the conference, San Diego State and Boise State, who have traded off finishing first and second each of the last four years, with San Diego State also claiming the championship in 2011. This year you can also add Nevada to the mix as the Wolfpack and Broncos were voted co-favorites by the coaches prior to the championships with 73 points apiece. The Aztecs were right behind those squads with 70 points. UNM was voted to finish seventh with 31 points.
“We just want to compete as best we can,” Kono said. “We want to have fun and compete. That’s our goal.”
Live scoring, results, recaps and video highlights for each day of the Championships are available at the Mountain West’s Championships Central page.