Rams Close Championships With a Second School Record

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The emotions came in waves, each fueled by memories. Those in the past, and more importantly for the task at hand, those which were created Saturday evening at the Texas A&M Natatorium on the final day of the Mountain West Swimming & Diving Championships.

Colorado State closed the show the way the Rams opened it, by posting a school record. The 400 yard freestyle relay team – the same group which took down the 800 free relay on the meet's first day – posted a third-place finish in a time of 3:21.59, bumping down a notch a team which included Amy Van Dyken and set the previous mark of 3:22.15 back in 1994.

That's a memory for senior Kristina Friedrichs, sophomore's Megan Hager and Anika Johnson and junior Sarah Mundy, who anchored the relay and slammed the water and then raised her arm in triumph after seeing the time on the board.

"I didn't know that. That's so cool," Mundy said of the connection to Van Dyken, American's original Golden Girl and the only NCAA champion in program history. "I knew it was an old record, but that's kind of crazy. She was such a prodigy of her time, and knowing a lot of her times s till stand at the top here and in the NCAA. It's unbelievable what she's been able to accomplish, and I think it's a huge honor that we're able to continue on the CSU legacy of improving times, going after it,, balls to the wall, don't give a crap about anything and go out there and have fun. It's kinda cool."

Colorado State placed fifth for the third consecutive year, finishing the four-day meet with 760 points. San Diego State ran away with the team title with 1,541.5 points. Of the 20 designated scorers for the Rams, 19 of them produced points, no one more than Friedrichs who was one of six members of the team to score in all five of her individual events and the only one who reached the championship final in all three of her races.

Her final individual race was the 100 freestyle, having earned the top seed for the finals out of the preliminaries with a time of 49.52, the second fastest in school history. She came back with a 49.74 to place third, her best finish of the meet after taking fourth in both the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

As the day wore on, five other seniors on the trip each took a turn at marking their final collegiate swim, and each time, they were greeted by teammates, hugs and tears abound. Friedrichs wanted no part of it, having to remain focused for her final two events. Besides, she's pretty sure it would be impossible for her to contemplate all four of her years as a Ram in the moment.

"I don't know if it was hard for me, just seeing all my friends who I've spent the last four years with ending their swimming career," she said. "It's a beautiful thing; that's the only thing I can think to say. I saw the end of one chapter and the beginning of others tonight. I think it's hard to comprehend right now."

Friedrichs has been the fire under the team during a 14-0 dual campaign, the first perfect mark for the program in 21 years. But it was also a season marked with very little competition after Thanksgiving (just one meet due to COVID concerns for other programs). She led off both record-setting relays for the team, leaving the future of the program to bring home prizes, valuable lessons for them all, a responsibility head coach Christopher Woodard wanted them prepared to shoulder in the coming years.

She was a big part of both of them, but she was the first to say she didn't do any of it alone, and she was happy to go to work with all of them every day, the same way she was willing to put in the work with her classmates for four seasons.

First, it was Johnson on the 800 team, but the last task when to Mundy. Even for her, with another year to go, the emotions of the day felt very real, and at the same time, far removed. Still, they all felt it helped fuel what transpired as the team finished with a strong kick than it came in with on the first full day of events Thursday.

"Everybody deals with emotions very differently, and I feel like I was trying to suppress everything," Mundy said. "It was using that and wanting to make them proud and honoring them – at least that was my motivation. It's been a big thing for us to have our relay with Tina's name on the board the last year and how hard she's worked. All the seniors have worked their butts off, and we're so honored to have them. We were just trying to use that emotion."

Woodard is used to seeing seniors get emotional on the final day, just the same as he's used to seeing each team take on a new personality. The faces change each and every year, and each time, the torch has to be passed. With Friedrichs and her crew on the way out, it's time for swimmers like Mundy and Johnson to start leading the charge.

"Every class is special, but you see trends over four years. This is the closing of a chapter with seven great seniors out the door, but you can see where people are starting to rise to the occasion. It was one of the reasons I talked to Kristina about leading her off in the relays. It allowed the younger ones to start getting the spotlight and feeling the pressure."

The final day started with a pair of freshmen placing in the top eight in the 1,650 freestyle. Emily Chorpening made a big push at the 500 mark to place fourth in a time of 16:27.58, which ranks third in school history. Maya White came in sixth at 16:44.41, with seniors Abbey Owenby 16^th and Madison Hunter 18^th.

The last race of the evening produced the Rams' other 'A' finalist in Lucy Matheson, the newest member of the team. The transfer from New Mexico State didn't join the squad until the semester break, and at first, the plan was for her to train to be ready to compete next season. Her training went so well and she felt so strong the Longmont product decided to compete in the lone meet the team had after the break, and she won two races and took second in another.

She placed seventh in the 200 butterfly, posting the fourth best time in school history at 2:00.76, dropping time for her preliminary effort of 2:01.16. She earlier placed 12^th in the 200 backstroke, proving she's acclimated quite well to her new team.

"I wasn't expecting to go to conference, so being here is has been kind of a fever dream, so it's been a lot of fun," she said. "Going to practice and going fast makes me want to compete, so it's kind of like an itch I have to scratch. I feel very good in the water. I feel confident in my ability and I'm so happy to be here."

Two other Rams placed in the 200 back – Liza Lunina 14^th and Maisy Barbosa 22^nd – keeping the momentum moving forward. Friedrich's efforts in the 100 free came with company as Mundy placed 15^th, Johnson 17^th and Hager 21^st. The 200 breast produced points from Kate Meunier (15^th) and Emma Breslin (16^th), and the 200 butterfly total was aided by Hanna Sykes (16^th) and Amanda Hoffman winning the bonus heat to place 17th as Hunter came in 24th.

"As always, there's things as a coach you look at and think we can improve and starting out a little bit faster, but I can't be disappointed, especially our last day," Woodard said. "We have a tendency to really, really show up when the chips are down and people are starting to get tired, our team just gets better. I'm really happy. I'm really happy to hear I'm proud to be a CSU Ram. That says everything about our team."

As did the performances and the tears. The final day was important to all of them, though the reasons may have varied. Whatever the motivation was, they all blended to contribute to the team's finish.

There's no better finish to a meet – even a career – than seeing your name on top of a list. Especially when it sits above a true legend.

"Anika, Megan and Sarah, they mean the world to me, and they work so hard every day," Friedrichs said. "I couldn't do what I do without them. They carry me through practice. I don't think doing it by myself would have meant as much as being able to do it with them."

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