Flying Away in Grand Style

HOUSTON – The pairing on the heat sheet was perfect.

In the fourth lane of the first of the 200-yard butterfly barrel-seeded heats was Lucy Matheson. Right next to her in the fifth lane was teammate Amanda Hoffman. In the Colorado State record book, they were tied together, both having posted the fourth-best time in program history at 2:00.63. Hoffman, a senior, had hit the mark as a freshman in the same setting, the Mountain West Championships. Matheson had tied the mark this season in a dual meet sweep the first weekend of December.

There they were, side by side, both eyeing a move up the ladder. There they were at the end, embracing in a hug, as they became the third and fourth swimmers in program history to dip below the 2-minute mark. Oddly enough, Matheson still ranked fourth in the event with her 1:58.95 as Hoffman vaulted to the top of the list with a school-record 1:57.07 to win the heat and come out of the 2023 Mountain West Championship preliminaries as the third seed for the finals as the CRWC Natatorium on the University of Houston campus. Both of their times were NCAA Championship 'B' cuts, the first of the season for the squad.

Both of them came back a bit slower in the finals – again next to each other in lanes five and six, placing third and fifth overall, part of a day where the Rams posted four top-five finishes, paced by Maya White's runner-up finish in the 1,650 freestyle to open Saturday's finals session.

What made the moment better for Hoffman was she didn't have a clue what she'd done.

"I got out of the water and Woody (coach Christopher Woodard) was right there, and I was already starting to cry because I was so happy," Hoffman said. "He just looked at me and said, 'you just broke the school record.' I was like, 'no I didn't,' but he said yes you did. I started bawling even more.

"I mean, that was the best way, to just have Woody tell me I had it. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

She'd given up hope because her strong freshman season was slowed down due to nagging injuries the following two seasons. This year, she's had a bit of a resurgence, finding her roove in both distances of the butterfly, but she still hadn't seen a 1:58 in her career. Expecting to skip an entire second as a swimmer isn't normally in the cards.

But she did.

"Honestly, I haven't thought about the record. When I was a freshman, I looked at it and thought maybe," she said. "But in the past two years I hadn't paid attention to it. I had no idea I broke the record, but I was really happy to see a 57. I was, 'oh my gosh, I skipped over 58 altogether, which was wild to me."

Maya White

White's frustration hasn't lasted as long – really the past year since coming out of the gates as a freshman so strong – but she understands the feeling. After a strong start to the meet in the 500 freestyle with a third-place finish and a long-awaited time drop, she came back on the final day in the race in which she has a strained relationship, the 1,650 freestyle.

She's really good in the event, but it doesn't mean she likes it. Understandable considering the toll it takes on a swimmers physical and mental wellbeing. But she swam the race the way she wanted it, dropping time to a 16:27.35 (she was already the second-fastest Ram in history in the mile) to be the Mountain West runner-up.

"It was a representation of being able to come back from a not-so-great season. Still being able to improve even though it wasn't always easy, making improvements during hard times like this," she said. "I was hoping to go around my best time. It really hurt, but that was about what I expected."

What the meet accomplished most for her was gaining a rejuvenation for the sport again. It can be a hard ride at times for swimmers, with plateaus lasting longer than they'd like, and the dips always seem deeper than what is the actual reality.

But hit a time and reach another milestone, and the pain doesn't seem so awful.

"It means a lot more than I can put into words," she said. "This is a good swing."

Freshman Lexie Trietley posted a pair of top-five finishes on the weekend, the last being her third-place showing in the 100 freestyle. She went a 49.79 in the finals, strengthening her third-best time at CSU originally set in the preliminaries.

They were both strong swims, and after winning her heat in the prelims, her streak of having never lost the race in college came to an end. No regrets from her, just more determination.

"I think I'm happy, but I'm not content. I am ready to keep grinding, keep working hard and move up in places next year," she said. "I need to keep improving my technique and do the things I need to do to get better. I'm happy with how I did this season.

"It was great to see more competition and great competition; everyone was amazing. I definitely am so grateful for this experience."

In the final day of diving, both Jessica Albanna and Braeden Shaffer earned points on the platform, with Albanna placing 19^th with a 191.55, Shaffer 22^nd at 176.70.

The Rams finished seventh in the team race with 790 points. San Diego State defended it's title with ease, scoring 1,638.

The point total was aided in every event on the final day. Emily Chorpening bounced back from being ill early in the meet to place 10^th in the 1,650 free (16:57.18), with Olivia LeBlanc 16^th (17:09.55). Matheson led a trio of Rams in the 200 backstroke – she was 100^th (2:00.48), Liza Lunina was 13^th (2:01.44) and Caroline Perry 19^th (2:03.58).

In the 100 free, Megan Hager (14^th, 50.58), Anika Johnson (20^th, 51.27) and Sarah Mundy (21^st, 51.28) all placed, with Hannah Sykes (16^th, 2:04.70) and Erin Dawson (21^st, 2:04.43) placing in the 200 fly.

Like all the seniors, Hoffman was a bundle of emotions on the day, putting her stamp on the record book while starting to say goodbye. In the morning, they had the idea of swimming a senior relay at the end – sans Mundy, who helped the 'A' squad which included Hager, Johnson and Trietley place fifth (3:22.44) – and approached Woodard with the plan.

He went with it, even though none of them are really freestylers except Sykes, who definitely isn't a sprinter. Still, she, Hoffman, Perry and Lunina laughed and hugged their way through it, and they didn't finish last in their heat.

Records are great, but for Hoffman, that memory will hold just as special of a place for her.

"I just love those girls so much, and we've been through so much these past four years," she said. "To have Sarah swim with the 'A' relay, because she's a freestyler … Hannah had the idea this morning and we were like, 'let's do it.' It was really special just to watch all of us swim those last four laps each, but together, and finish our careers together. I'm always going to look back on that the rest of my life and be so grateful for the memories and the relationships."

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Albanna

Emily Chorpening

Erin Dawson

Megan Hager

Amanda Hoffman

Anika Johnson

Olivia LeBlanc

Liza Lunina

Lucy Matheson

Sarah Mundy

Caroline Perry

Braeden Shaffer

Hannah Sykes

Lexie Trietley

Maya White