Track and field, swim and dive produce multiple wins in conference

By Derek Raridon

Swim and Dive

In February, both the women’s swim and dive team and women’s indoor track and field team competed in their own Mountain West Conference tournaments, producing five Mountain West championships in a two week span for Nevada.

First, there was the dive events, where Lucia Gabino, sophomore diver, took home two separate diving championships.

On Feb. 15, Gabino took home the gold in the one-meter springboard event, acquiring a score of 348.5 points to secure the win. She was in a tight race with Melissa Mirafuentes, Bailey Heydra and Laura Isabel, Nevada divers, who finished second (347), third (338.85) and fourth (329.5) respectively.

One day later, on Feb. 26, Gabino would go back to back and secure her second championship in the three-meter springboard. Qualifying third for the final behind Heydra and Mirafuentes, Gabino finished the day with a final score of 375.25, finishing comfortably with Heydra (second, 360.85) and Mirafuentes (fourth, 335.65) right next to her.

Then, there was Benedict Nagy, senior swimmer, who secured the 400 individual medley conference championship for the third consecutive year in a row. Nagy qualified second in the qualifiers with a 4:11.49 time. Then, in a tight race with Kristina Murphy, San Diego State University swimmer, Nagy was able to squeeze out a 0.62 second lead and take home Nevada’s third championship of the event.

Track and Field

Moving on to the next weekend, the track and field team notched two conference championships of their own. On the second day of the event, Natasha Chetty, Nevada high jumper, would be the first to claim a conference title. The competition was fierce, but after clearing 1.73 meters in one try, Chetty would only have two more women to beat: Lina Schubert from San Jose State and Jenna Fee Feyerabend from San Diego State. However, it would not take long for Chetty to best her competition. After clearing a 1.76 meter jump, neither Schubert or Fee Feyerabend were to do the same, making Chetty a conference champion. The jump also sets a new personal record for Chetty, as well as places her sixth all-time in school history. Following up the next day would be the 4x400-meter relay team, picking up the second conference championship for the program. The team consisted of Annalies Kalma, Emily Costello, Lilly Gregg and Halyn Senegal. Kalma, Costello, Gregg and Senegal all competed in the second of three heats, running a collective time of 3:39.62. The winner of the third heat, San Diego State, put up a time of 3:40.5. And thus, the Wolf Pack women were crowned Mountain West champions.

Derek Raridon can be reached via email at draridon@ sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @NevadaSagebrush

By Derek Raridon

Men’s Basketball (as of Feb. 6): 18-6 overall, 8-3 in conference play (T-2nd in Mountain West)

Taking the spotlight of the winter sports season has been the men’s basketball team. Putting up two, five or more win streaks early in the season pushed the team out to a great start. Although the team hasn’t been able to string more than two wins together since then, the men have had very impactful wins versus New Mexico and San Diego State, who were both ranked twenty-fifth and twenty-third respectively at the time of their games.

Adding to the accomplishments: the men have not lost at home so far this season. This team is a huge upgrade from last year, and if they continue their momentum, could end up in the March Madness tournament and potentially be ranked in the top 25.

Women’s Basketball (as of Feb. 6): 9-14 overall, 6-6 in conference play (8th in Mountain West)

The Women’s basketball program has been lackluster compared to their previous season. They started out going back and forth between wins and losses, staying roughly around .500 through November. However, going 2-5 in December, and having four of those losses by 10+ points did not help them in the slightest. The program has been going back and forth once more. The women did win their last game against Utah State, but almost choked a 29 point lead in the process. In order to finish the season over .500, the program needs to win their final six games. Any more losses, and they will finish under .500 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Women’s Swim and Dive (as of Feb. 6): 6-1 overall, 2-1 in conference play

Women’s swim and dive has continued to be the hidden gem the program has been over the last decade. The program has six head to head wins, taking five of them by 50+ points. They were even able to win by 75 points or more on three separate occasions. The women did have a bit of a slip right before and after their almost two month break, placing seventh out of 11 in the Utah Tech Invitational and losing to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas 166-133. However, the program did secure a win against New Mexico 159-66 before the Mountain West Swim and Dive championships. If they are able to ride their momentum going into the conference championship, the swim and dive team will have a good chance of bringing home some hardware.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field (as of Feb. 6)

The Women’s indoor track and field program has hoisted multiple top-8 finishes, placements in the Nevada all-time top-10 list, and impressive personal bests (or PBs) through their four meets competed in so far. The program has one more event, the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, before the conference championship, leaving room for more accolades.

Writing out their accomplishments in a paragraph would take a whole page or two, so here is a list of said accomplishments per event:

Spokane Invitational

• First place and new school record in 400 meter run: Emily Costello (54.06 seconds)

• Personal best and eleventh best all time in 60 meter hurdles: Sarah Marske (8.77 seconds)

• First place and personal best in 600 meter sprint: Halyn Senegal (1:32.14)

• Second place in 600 meter sprint: Raegan Gorzeman (1:35.92)

• 5000 meter distance running (three, top 5 finishers)

• First: Emily Clarke (17:16.44)

• Third: Page Penrose (17:50.41)

Fifth: Jasper Fievet (18:28.28)

• Third place in 4x400 meter relay race: Nevada ‘A’ Team (3:47.26)

National Pole Vault Summit

• First place: Camrin Dolcini (3.90 meters)

• Seventh place: Samantha Irwin (3.25 meters)

Texas Tech Open

• Seventh best all-time in school and new personal best in long jump: Hanah Smrt (5.76 meters)

• Sixth best all-time in school and new personal best in 400 meter run: Senegal (56.13 seconds)

• Third place in Medley: Kylee Denver Madelyn Shipman, Kylie Burton and Marije Hijman (12:26.32)

• First place and new personal best: Natasha Chetly (1.75 meters)

• Seventh place in pole vault: Dolcini (3.88 meters)

• Third place in 3000 meter distance run: Clarke (9:49.18)

Washington State Open

• Ninth place in the overall pentathlon: Smrt (3,455 points)

• Fourth place and new personal best in high jump: Smrt (1.66 meters)

• Third place in long jump: Smrt (5.50 meters)