Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, February 22
Houston, TX
All Day
Colorado State
at
Mountain West Championships
Expected Champion. Unexpected Event
2/22/2024 9:37:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Dawson breaks CSU dry spell with school’s first 500 free title
HOUSTON  – For about five minutes, Maya White basked in the glow of a personal best.
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She had won her heat of the 500-yard freestyle during the preliminary rounds of the Mountain West Championships, breaking her personal best, a time which had already stood second in program history. The fact she shaved nearly a couple of seconds down to a 4:47.99 felt pretty good at the time.
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Then along came her classmate Erin Dawson a heat later. Her roommate, no less. Her bestie. The peanut butter to her jelly – they have costumes. And to top it off, Dawson didn't even swim the event until midyear, when on a whim on the training trip to Florida, she dropped a 4:52.07, the third-best time at CSU. That was, until Thursday morning. As Dawon waited for her heat to go, she flashed a double thumbs-up to White as she passed by, then she entered the lane and passed her by, giving the Rams even more depth in the event, a leg up for a team which entered the meet looking for one.
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Dawson popped a 4:45.68 to come away the top seed in the race, the time just .01 off the school record and her second NCAA 'B' standard of the season and enter the finals as the top seed at the CRWC Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston. Dawson was naturally pretty happy. White was thrilled for her workout partner, the duo which pushes each other the most.Â
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Still, Dawson didn't believe.
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"Absolutely not. I've always done the 200 IM, and this is my fourth time swimming the 500," Dawson explained. "I never saw this coming. I didn't. I don't know … It's not something I usually swim. It's crazy, and it gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. It makes it more fun, just because I don't normally swim it. I train it every once in a while."
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She does now – even though she hasn't fully absorbed the grandeur of the achievement – as she gutted out a school-record 4:43.76 to win the program's first Mountain West championship in five years and the first ever in the event.
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She spent the majority of the race in second, chasing down Frederica Kizek of Nevada, who stormed out in front in Lane 7, attempting to pull some outside smoke. Dawson saw her – she was wearing her contacts – then remained in contact. Never a worry.
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"I knew I could chase her down," the mild-mannered junior said with an air of confidence.
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Coach Christopher Woodard had no doubts either. His calm came early, in the first 15 meters of the race.
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It's not just that he had confidence in Dawson in a race she was swimming for just the fourth time this season, but he has an abundance of confidence in a young lady who struggled through a freshman season and came back with a tenacity unexpected from a person who speaks in such soft tones.
Â
He knows because of her approach. She works hard, trains harder. Woodard said she goes after things in an old-school manner, a process which still produces results.
Â
"I think we already knew. I wasn't too worried about it," he said. "I don't know what her opponent is going to do, but I know what Erin is capable of. As long as she's in spitting distance of someone, she'll go. Hats off to Maya and Erin for their fortitude because that was a good race."
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Dawson felt more comfortable about the event because she and White walked out next to each other and swam next to each other. It brought her stress down, which helped. As she said, "it's always Erin and Maya; peanut butter and jelly."
A year ago, at the same meet at the same pool, Dawson earned a glimmer of encouragement when she posted a third-place showing in the 400 individual medley. That set up an offseason of training and racing, carrying expectations of going after a conference title.
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In that race. Or even the 200 freestyle. Not the 500 freestyle.
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"I'm not stressed about going into those races, especially after today," Dawson said. "It's kind of cool. I was fired up after the relays yesterday, and it's cool to have my teammates cheering for me. It still doesn't seem real. I'll get there."
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It was the highlight of the day for a Colorado State squad which had plenty to cheer. The last time the Rams crowned a champ was Maddie Ward in the 200 breaststroke in 2019. At the end of the second day, the team had moved into fourth place with 336 points.
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Overall, the 500 free was good to the team, with White placing fourth in a time of 4:47.99, lowering her personal best and sitting third all-time at CSU. Emily Chorpening finished 20th (4:59.12).
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Two of the newest Rams, transfers Sydney VanOvermeiren and Rylee O'Neil, both placed in the 200 IM, joining the top 10 in the process. VanOvermeiren won the consolation heat in a 2:01.24, the fourth-fastest at CSU, while O'Neil was 20th in 2:03.63, a time which now sits seventh.
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In the 50 free, Lexie Trietley lowered her personal best to 22.73 – after matching her previous of 22.76 in the prelims – to take third place. Her time still ranks third at the school, just a hair closer to second now. She wasn't finished however, helping the team put an exclamation point on the festivities with a fourth-place finish in the 400 medley relay, complete with a school-record time of 3:38.95.
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Dawson, who didn't expect to win, at least knew she broke the school record. No one on the quad had a clue what they'd done. She also felt the whole meet was in a bit of a daze after the start was delay by 30 minutes when news broke a tragic car accident had impacted the Wyoming men's team, and in turn, the Cowgirls and their coaching staff on deck.
Â
"I had no idea. I think I'm overall pretty happy with how the day went," Trietley said. "I went a best time in my 50, so that was exciting, and I put up good points for the team, and the relay was really good for everyone. Everyone swam fast, everyone did their best. Everyone was upset about what happened in Wyoming, so I think we did the best we could and tried to swim for them. We're all super proud of them as a team, too."
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Colorado State's divers both placed for a second consecutive day, each reaching the consolation finals on the 3-meter springboard. Maggie Di Scipio placed 12th, Jozie Meitz 14th.
Â
Friday's slate includes five individual events in the preliminaries, with the 200 freestyle relay kicking off the evening's finals.
Â
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She had won her heat of the 500-yard freestyle during the preliminary rounds of the Mountain West Championships, breaking her personal best, a time which had already stood second in program history. The fact she shaved nearly a couple of seconds down to a 4:47.99 felt pretty good at the time.
Â
Then along came her classmate Erin Dawson a heat later. Her roommate, no less. Her bestie. The peanut butter to her jelly – they have costumes. And to top it off, Dawson didn't even swim the event until midyear, when on a whim on the training trip to Florida, she dropped a 4:52.07, the third-best time at CSU. That was, until Thursday morning. As Dawon waited for her heat to go, she flashed a double thumbs-up to White as she passed by, then she entered the lane and passed her by, giving the Rams even more depth in the event, a leg up for a team which entered the meet looking for one.
Â
Dawson popped a 4:45.68 to come away the top seed in the race, the time just .01 off the school record and her second NCAA 'B' standard of the season and enter the finals as the top seed at the CRWC Natatorium on the campus of the University of Houston. Dawson was naturally pretty happy. White was thrilled for her workout partner, the duo which pushes each other the most.Â
Â
Still, Dawson didn't believe.
Â
"Absolutely not. I've always done the 200 IM, and this is my fourth time swimming the 500," Dawson explained. "I never saw this coming. I didn't. I don't know … It's not something I usually swim. It's crazy, and it gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. It makes it more fun, just because I don't normally swim it. I train it every once in a while."
Â
She does now – even though she hasn't fully absorbed the grandeur of the achievement – as she gutted out a school-record 4:43.76 to win the program's first Mountain West championship in five years and the first ever in the event.
Â
She spent the majority of the race in second, chasing down Frederica Kizek of Nevada, who stormed out in front in Lane 7, attempting to pull some outside smoke. Dawson saw her – she was wearing her contacts – then remained in contact. Never a worry.
Â
"I knew I could chase her down," the mild-mannered junior said with an air of confidence.
Â
Coach Christopher Woodard had no doubts either. His calm came early, in the first 15 meters of the race.
Â
It's not just that he had confidence in Dawson in a race she was swimming for just the fourth time this season, but he has an abundance of confidence in a young lady who struggled through a freshman season and came back with a tenacity unexpected from a person who speaks in such soft tones.
Â
He knows because of her approach. She works hard, trains harder. Woodard said she goes after things in an old-school manner, a process which still produces results.
Â
"I think we already knew. I wasn't too worried about it," he said. "I don't know what her opponent is going to do, but I know what Erin is capable of. As long as she's in spitting distance of someone, she'll go. Hats off to Maya and Erin for their fortitude because that was a good race."
Â
Dawson felt more comfortable about the event because she and White walked out next to each other and swam next to each other. It brought her stress down, which helped. As she said, "it's always Erin and Maya; peanut butter and jelly."
A year ago, at the same meet at the same pool, Dawson earned a glimmer of encouragement when she posted a third-place showing in the 400 individual medley. That set up an offseason of training and racing, carrying expectations of going after a conference title.
Â
In that race. Or even the 200 freestyle. Not the 500 freestyle.
Â
"I'm not stressed about going into those races, especially after today," Dawson said. "It's kind of cool. I was fired up after the relays yesterday, and it's cool to have my teammates cheering for me. It still doesn't seem real. I'll get there."
Â
It was the highlight of the day for a Colorado State squad which had plenty to cheer. The last time the Rams crowned a champ was Maddie Ward in the 200 breaststroke in 2019. At the end of the second day, the team had moved into fourth place with 336 points.
Â
Overall, the 500 free was good to the team, with White placing fourth in a time of 4:47.99, lowering her personal best and sitting third all-time at CSU. Emily Chorpening finished 20th (4:59.12).
Â
Two of the newest Rams, transfers Sydney VanOvermeiren and Rylee O'Neil, both placed in the 200 IM, joining the top 10 in the process. VanOvermeiren won the consolation heat in a 2:01.24, the fourth-fastest at CSU, while O'Neil was 20th in 2:03.63, a time which now sits seventh.
Â
In the 50 free, Lexie Trietley lowered her personal best to 22.73 – after matching her previous of 22.76 in the prelims – to take third place. Her time still ranks third at the school, just a hair closer to second now. She wasn't finished however, helping the team put an exclamation point on the festivities with a fourth-place finish in the 400 medley relay, complete with a school-record time of 3:38.95.
Â
Dawson, who didn't expect to win, at least knew she broke the school record. No one on the quad had a clue what they'd done. She also felt the whole meet was in a bit of a daze after the start was delay by 30 minutes when news broke a tragic car accident had impacted the Wyoming men's team, and in turn, the Cowgirls and their coaching staff on deck.
Â
"I had no idea. I think I'm overall pretty happy with how the day went," Trietley said. "I went a best time in my 50, so that was exciting, and I put up good points for the team, and the relay was really good for everyone. Everyone swam fast, everyone did their best. Everyone was upset about what happened in Wyoming, so I think we did the best we could and tried to swim for them. We're all super proud of them as a team, too."
Â
Colorado State's divers both placed for a second consecutive day, each reaching the consolation finals on the 3-meter springboard. Maggie Di Scipio placed 12th, Jozie Meitz 14th.
Â
Friday's slate includes five individual events in the preliminaries, with the 200 freestyle relay kicking off the evening's finals.
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