Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, February 23
Houston, TX
All Day
Colorado State
at
Mountain West Championships
Dawson Doubles Down With 400 IM Crown
2/23/2024 9:43:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Next race, she breaks the school record in the 200 free
HOUSTON  – She doesn't mind the pain. Could be all the winning and record-breaking makes it a secondary concern.
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A day after winning the 500-yard freestyle with a school record, Erin Dawson doubled down – literally. The junior swam an amazing, taxing schedule, going from the 400 individual medley to the 200 freestyle in back-to-back races. So busy was the Sparks, Nev., product she had to have a stand-in for the awards podium for the 400 IM.
Â
Delaney Engel, who was part of Colorado State's amazing 400 IM performance – eight placers in all – posted an eye-opening personal performance and played her part while Dawson warmed up for her next event.
Â
"I felt like an imposter. I was standing there, and I was saying, 'my name is Erin Angel Dawson, and I was born …'" Engel said. "I wanted to do that for her."
Â
Dawson became the first woman in the Mountain West to win both the 500 free and 400 IM titles at the same meet, posting an NCAA B cut of 4:11.13 (more than 2 seconds faster than her prelim swim) in a start-to-finish performance. She was never challenged, with two of her teammates also in the championship final.
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Then all she did was come back and give all she had in the 200 free, breaking the school record with her second NCAA B cut of the meet with a 1:47.36, a record which had stood for 20 seasons. She's broken two school records and became the first Ram to win two titles in the same championships since Haley Rowley did so in 2018. She's the sixth CSU swimmer to win multiple Mountain West titles in a season.
Â
She knew a few things. One, she was going to sleep great Friday night. Second, it was all worth it. Every single stroke.
Â
"I've kind of done it before, so I wasn't too stressed about it, and I've been practicing it. I think I was prepared," Dawson said. "You have to be more mentally tough for that kind of thing, and I knew I could do it. And it was kind of fun.
Â
"Really, I don't know where it came from. I think the 400 IM warmed me up, and I'll do a 100 IM right into a 100 free right after practice. It was definitely preparation."
Â
Sydney VanOvermeiren placed third in 4:16.14, the fourth-best time in program history, while Maya White came in eighth in 4:17.76, a personal best which ranks fifth at the school. Delaney led a trio in the consolation final by placing 13th as she dropped more than 3 seconds from the prelims in posting a 4:21.93, just .02 off the top-10 list. Maisy Barbosa was 15th, Rylee O'Neil 16th, Maddi Geyer 20th and Emily Chorpening 20th as the event elevated the Rams' team score to 626, putting them in third heading into the final day.
Â
Engel was proud to be part of the group, and when she bent down to accept Dawson's medal, CSU coach Christopher Woodard told her that really could be her, all she had to do was dream. Her race felt like one.
Â
"We were so pumped and excited. We were joking we could have our own heat of Rams, and I think we all wanted to swim for each other and have fun with it," Engel said. "We wanted to have fun, swim for Wyoming and make it a team thing. I was excited to see everybody go so hard and so fast each heat.
Â
"I was in disbelief (of my time). I was shocked to say the least. My reaction was I immediately hugged Maisy and told her I wouldn't be here without you. She, Erin and Maya and everybody in the Monday distance group pushed me so much. I said it to Rylee. I couldn't be here without my teammates. I wanted them to know that."
Â
Like the rest of her teammates, Engel is just in awe of what Dawson is doing at the meet.
Â
They are watching her take on challenges as they come, and gladly do so. They all understand the task she undertook and are just as impressed as the grace she showed in accepting the role for the good of the team.
Â
"A GOAT. She's a GOAT," Engel said. "She's the greatest of all time. We say she's a beast multiple times in practice. She's just phenomenal."
Â
Tess Whineray became the third Ram to post an NCAA 'B' standard this year, hitting 53.65 in the prelims of the 100 backstroke, then lowering that time to 53.53 (third best at CSU) to place fourth. She's been on a slow build to her specialty event, swimming legs in the medley relays. The New Zealander has been on a slow build to adapting to yardage from meters, especially the number of walls in a race.
Â
It led to a great swim.
Â
"I really wanted to get third, but it is what it is, and I have tomorrow," she said, referring to the 200 back. "It's been an experience, a learning experience. The first time you don't know really what to expect, so it's fun to see what conference is like. It's been really fun. Woody said after my race he really liked my second turn; the first and third weren't as good as the second. I do think I've improved, but there's still room for improvement."
Â
The Rams had three other placers in the race as Lucy Matheson touched 18th, Mavi Nehir Isman 21st and Rachel Saxon 22nd. Matheson had started the Rams' run in the first individual event, the 100 butterfly with a seventh-place finish. Freshman Mavi Nehir Isman added to the event total by placing 23rd.
Â
Right before, teammate Claire Wright hit a personal goal, notching a 1:03.46 to place 17th in the 100 breaststroke. It ranks seventh at the school and led immediately to a hand-slap of the water as an exclamation to breaking a barrier. The evening started with the 200 free relay placing seventh.
Â
All good things for the Rams, but the night belonged to Dawson, and rightfully so.
Â
What Dawson did in the night really shouldn't have shocked anybody. All they needed to do was pay close attention during the preliminaries. It was the first time she had to do the double, though there were more heats to fill up space. Even still, after setting the pace in the 400 IM in the morning, her true goal for the session was to make it back for the championship heat in the 200. She was in a tight battle in her heat (the first of the barrel heats), but instead of easing up at the end – and still qualifying – she found another gear and passed San Diego State's Reka Nyradi at the end to set a mark of 1:47.54 for the final two heats to chase.
Â
That's not in her DNA.
Â
"No. I grew up learning how to race more than focusing on the outcome, the time," she said. "I think that helped a lot. I kind of enjoy the pain. It's why I like the 400 IM so much."
Â
She likes it even more now.
Â
Â
A day after winning the 500-yard freestyle with a school record, Erin Dawson doubled down – literally. The junior swam an amazing, taxing schedule, going from the 400 individual medley to the 200 freestyle in back-to-back races. So busy was the Sparks, Nev., product she had to have a stand-in for the awards podium for the 400 IM.
Â
Delaney Engel, who was part of Colorado State's amazing 400 IM performance – eight placers in all – posted an eye-opening personal performance and played her part while Dawson warmed up for her next event.
Â
"I felt like an imposter. I was standing there, and I was saying, 'my name is Erin Angel Dawson, and I was born …'" Engel said. "I wanted to do that for her."
Â
Dawson became the first woman in the Mountain West to win both the 500 free and 400 IM titles at the same meet, posting an NCAA B cut of 4:11.13 (more than 2 seconds faster than her prelim swim) in a start-to-finish performance. She was never challenged, with two of her teammates also in the championship final.
Â
Then all she did was come back and give all she had in the 200 free, breaking the school record with her second NCAA B cut of the meet with a 1:47.36, a record which had stood for 20 seasons. She's broken two school records and became the first Ram to win two titles in the same championships since Haley Rowley did so in 2018. She's the sixth CSU swimmer to win multiple Mountain West titles in a season.
Â
She knew a few things. One, she was going to sleep great Friday night. Second, it was all worth it. Every single stroke.
Â
"I've kind of done it before, so I wasn't too stressed about it, and I've been practicing it. I think I was prepared," Dawson said. "You have to be more mentally tough for that kind of thing, and I knew I could do it. And it was kind of fun.
Â
"Really, I don't know where it came from. I think the 400 IM warmed me up, and I'll do a 100 IM right into a 100 free right after practice. It was definitely preparation."
Â
Sydney VanOvermeiren placed third in 4:16.14, the fourth-best time in program history, while Maya White came in eighth in 4:17.76, a personal best which ranks fifth at the school. Delaney led a trio in the consolation final by placing 13th as she dropped more than 3 seconds from the prelims in posting a 4:21.93, just .02 off the top-10 list. Maisy Barbosa was 15th, Rylee O'Neil 16th, Maddi Geyer 20th and Emily Chorpening 20th as the event elevated the Rams' team score to 626, putting them in third heading into the final day.
Â
Engel was proud to be part of the group, and when she bent down to accept Dawson's medal, CSU coach Christopher Woodard told her that really could be her, all she had to do was dream. Her race felt like one.
Â
"We were so pumped and excited. We were joking we could have our own heat of Rams, and I think we all wanted to swim for each other and have fun with it," Engel said. "We wanted to have fun, swim for Wyoming and make it a team thing. I was excited to see everybody go so hard and so fast each heat.
Â
"I was in disbelief (of my time). I was shocked to say the least. My reaction was I immediately hugged Maisy and told her I wouldn't be here without you. She, Erin and Maya and everybody in the Monday distance group pushed me so much. I said it to Rylee. I couldn't be here without my teammates. I wanted them to know that."
Â
Like the rest of her teammates, Engel is just in awe of what Dawson is doing at the meet.
Â
They are watching her take on challenges as they come, and gladly do so. They all understand the task she undertook and are just as impressed as the grace she showed in accepting the role for the good of the team.
Â
"A GOAT. She's a GOAT," Engel said. "She's the greatest of all time. We say she's a beast multiple times in practice. She's just phenomenal."
Â
Tess Whineray became the third Ram to post an NCAA 'B' standard this year, hitting 53.65 in the prelims of the 100 backstroke, then lowering that time to 53.53 (third best at CSU) to place fourth. She's been on a slow build to her specialty event, swimming legs in the medley relays. The New Zealander has been on a slow build to adapting to yardage from meters, especially the number of walls in a race.
Â
It led to a great swim.
Â
"I really wanted to get third, but it is what it is, and I have tomorrow," she said, referring to the 200 back. "It's been an experience, a learning experience. The first time you don't know really what to expect, so it's fun to see what conference is like. It's been really fun. Woody said after my race he really liked my second turn; the first and third weren't as good as the second. I do think I've improved, but there's still room for improvement."
Â
The Rams had three other placers in the race as Lucy Matheson touched 18th, Mavi Nehir Isman 21st and Rachel Saxon 22nd. Matheson had started the Rams' run in the first individual event, the 100 butterfly with a seventh-place finish. Freshman Mavi Nehir Isman added to the event total by placing 23rd.
Â
Right before, teammate Claire Wright hit a personal goal, notching a 1:03.46 to place 17th in the 100 breaststroke. It ranks seventh at the school and led immediately to a hand-slap of the water as an exclamation to breaking a barrier. The evening started with the 200 free relay placing seventh.
Â
All good things for the Rams, but the night belonged to Dawson, and rightfully so.
Â
What Dawson did in the night really shouldn't have shocked anybody. All they needed to do was pay close attention during the preliminaries. It was the first time she had to do the double, though there were more heats to fill up space. Even still, after setting the pace in the 400 IM in the morning, her true goal for the session was to make it back for the championship heat in the 200. She was in a tight battle in her heat (the first of the barrel heats), but instead of easing up at the end – and still qualifying – she found another gear and passed San Diego State's Reka Nyradi at the end to set a mark of 1:47.54 for the final two heats to chase.
Â
That's not in her DNA.
Â
"No. I grew up learning how to race more than focusing on the outcome, the time," she said. "I think that helped a lot. I kind of enjoy the pain. It's why I like the 400 IM so much."
Â
She likes it even more now.
Â
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Players Mentioned
BK, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, FLY, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FLY/BK/IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK, FL
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FL, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BK
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
FR, BR IM
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
BR, IM
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