BYU swimming: Women lead MWC meet

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — After a rough start at the Mountain West Conference Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday, the BYU women's team captured the lead again, edging Wyoming by one point.

The BYU men find themselves in fourth place after some strong swims in Thursday's competition.

"We had a great day of swimming today and we need to have two more days just like it," said BYU head coach Tim Powers. "Ninety-five percent of our swims here have been lifetime bests, and I am really proud of what our swimmers have done the past two days."

Winning events for the Cougars on the day were Natasha Menezes in the 500 free, Ava Jackman on the 1-meter board, Aleesha Miller in the 50 free and the 200 free relay team of Kirsty Ferrell, Leilani Roberts, Sara Jayne Christiansen and Miller.

During the preliminary round of the 500 free, Natasha Menezes, broke the MWC record as well as the BYU all-time record with a time of 4:47.54. The BYU record hasn't been broken since 1995 — set by Cherrill Haws with a time of 4:50.70. N. Menezes was in front of the competition in prelims by six seconds. She placed first in the finals with a time of 4:47.83, earning 20 points for her team. N. Menezes has now won three consecutive 500 free titles at the MWC Championships.

"We're excited about the way Natasha swam and are pleased with her time," said Powers. "She got a little too excited and got out a little too fast, but still came out with an excellent swim."

Victory runs in the blood of the Menezes family as Natasha's sister, Michelle Menezes, placed eighth in the 500 free finals with a time of 4:57.96, posting 11 points for her Cougars. She swam a 4:55.48 in the prelims, a personal best.

After event seven (women's 500 free), the women still found themselves in second place behind Wyoming.

John Kendrick was the sole Cougar to make it to the finals in the 500 free, placing sixth in the event with a time of 4:27.89. Teammates Stott Bushnell (4:25.72) and Jeff Ferrell (4:26.29) placed ninth and 10th, respectively, in the consolation heat. Their times were good enough to place fourth and fifth, respectively, in the final heat.

The men continued to stay in the four spot with 96.5 points after event eight.