Whineray, White Close With Runner-Up Finishes

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – Going into the final day, they were looking for more.

More cuts. More program top 10s. More appearances in the championship heat. Check. Check. Check.

The finals of the final day of the Hawkeye Invitational began with Maya White posting an NCAA B cut as she was the runner-up in the 1,650-yard freestyle final, the first of two top-eight finishes on the day for the senior, who also placed fifth in the 200 butterfly, popping a program top-10 time in the process.

Her set was backed up by a pair of finalists in the 200 backstroke, with Tess Whineray taking second with an NCAA B cut of 1:56.15, while Barbosa placed sixth.

All good, and more of what the Rams were hunting.

"We always preach that. You can't come out guns blazing on day one, lose momentum and lose your focus on the last day," CSU coach Christopher Woodard said. "It's a sure-fire way to watch yourself slip in the standings in a three-day invite or at conference. We only got stronger. That's kind of been our hallmark."

Barbosa spent the weekend adding herself to the program's record book, a document where her name was listed once – in the 400 IM entering the meet – exiting with its placement in four. She started off with the 200 IM on the first day (fourth, 2:01.14), vaulted into the 100 back with an exhibition swim on the second day (eighth, 55.15) then later moved up the 400 IM chart with the team's first NCAA B cut of the season (third, 4:15.75) then closed out the invitational by cracking the 200 back chart (sixth, 1:58.85). She was the only Ram to swim in a trio of A finals, also placing seventh in the 200 IM, fourth in the 400 IM.

"There's an ego there with Tess, but it's hidden behind a very mild-mannered façade. You would never know it," Woodard said. "I think last year she was impressed with her backs and her growth, but I think she was kind of champing at the bit to do some other events, and now she's busted through in the freestyle. In some ways, that's taken the pressure off the back. I can't say enough good things about what she's done.

"As for Maisy, she was probably the swimmer of the meet. She was doing every single event, doing it well, and every time we threw something new at her, she handled it was such grace and positivity."

White may have found a new third event when it comes to the conference meet with her performance in the 200 fly. Already one of the best distance swimmers in school history, ranking in the top three in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyles, as well as sitting sixth in the 400 IM, she gave Woodard something to consider.

For one, it would be a less-stressful championships for her, cutting out the grueling 400 IM she normally swims. Two, he's pretty sure she doesn't mind the taxing effort required.

"As tough as it is, I think she kind of relished the challenge and also a little relief in the thought that maybe I have a different third event for conference lineup," Woodard said. "As always, it's more about she just takes it in stride: Here's a new challenge, I'm going to do this. She gets a little nervous, but she pushes through."

Even when the Rams weren't scoring in races, they were hitting some marks. Skyler Lyon put herself in the books with a 2:16.92 in the 200 breaststroke, eighth-best at CSU. In those extra finals, Lindsey Blake, Mavi Nehir Isman, Ashlynn Hembree, Mia Axelson and Adddison Wicklund continued to build on a solid weekend, all of them posting personal bests in events. As a team, they did a better job of improving in the finals than the previous two days. The final result was a seventh-place showing for the team with 631 points.

Additional points came from Lexie Trietley in the 100 freestyle (15^th, 51.58) and Rylee O'Neil's 11^th-place showing in the 200 fly in 2:02.87 before the 400 freestyle relay closed out the weekend.

"It's always about improving your performance in the evening. Whatever you can evaluate in the morning and change and do a little bit better, that's what we want," Woodard said. "Kids moving up and dropping time, that's the key."

The CSU foursome of Whineray, Axelman, Trietley and Ashlyn Hembree placed 10^th in a season-best time of 3:23.98.

Over the weekend, Colorado State picked up four NCAA B cuts from Whineray (two), White and Barbosa while eight times the team broke into the program top 10.

Colorado State will train through the next few months, returning to competition when the divers take part in the Lancer Diving Invitational Jan. 9-11, with the swimmers competing in a double dual on Jan. 11 against San Diego and San Diego State.

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- STALWART -

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