Gomez, Broughton Lead Charge on Day Two of MW Championships

HOUSTON, Texas — Five Lobos scored in the 3-meter springboard, led by Isabella Gomez who finished sixth in her second straight championship final appearance, and Ellie Broughton broke into the UNM all-time performers list in the 500-free to highlight the second day of competition for the Lobos.

The 3-meter springboard was where UNM did the bulk of its damage, with Gomez qualifying for the championship final, Alice English and Arianna Pelligra qualifying for the consolation final and both Zoe Rinon and and Rithika Colvin scoring points.  Gomez in qualifying scored 291.35 to advance, and then she topped her previous PR with a 304.50 in the finals.  That was good for sixth place as six divers all broke the 300-point mark, led by Nevada’s Lucia Gabino.

English just missed a finals appearance, finishing ninth in qualifying at 270.9, and then she scored 278.0 in the final, missing zone qualifying by two points, and finishing 12th overall.  Pelligra scored a 251.55 in the consolation final to finish 16th overall. Rinon finished 20th and Colvin 22nd to round out UNM’s 3-meter scoring.

In the pool, Broughton was the highlight in the 500-yard free.  She nearly had a PR in qualifying, hitting 4:56.49, and then she topped that in the evening session to finish 16th overall with a 4:55.68.  That mark was good for 10th on the UNM all-time performances list in the 500.  UNM had one other qualify for a B-final, and that was Arianna Stokes who finished 12th in the 50-free at 23.05.

The Lobos are in eighth place through eight events with 245 points.  San Diego State leads the meet with 456 points, just ahead of Nevada at 442 points.