Whineray Dominates Field for NCAA Berth

HOUSTON – Nothing was out of the ordinary. Not the start of the race, not even the first half.

The opening act was following a blueprint everybody figured would play out: San Diego State's Abby Storm, the defending Mountain West champion in the 200-yard backstroke, would go out fast like she always does, then show her strength in the back half. Tess Whineray knew long before the race she had to counter it somehow.

For one, stay closer to her at the start. Second, prove to herself and the rest of the attending crowd at the 2026 Mountain West Championships on Saturday night at the CRWC Natatorium she had the strength to finish. A change was coming and it was visibly obvious when Whineray came off the wall at the 100. When she finally surfaced from a stellar underwater kick, she was in front.

People could see that. What nobody knew was Whinery had flipped the switch 25 yards prior in a place no one could see.

Deep in the recesses of her mind.

"I could see she was ahead of me in the first 100, but at the 75 I said to myself this isn't ending this way. I know it's going to end with me winning," Whineray said. "It was like time slowed down in that point. I was, usually this would be when I kind of give up, go oh my God she's gone out and she's gonna beat me, it's over. But there was a point at about the 75 when I was like, no it's not over. You came here for this and you're going to do it right now.

"Then that obviously led to me at the 100 pulling away and then it was over from there."

When Whineray touched the wall in a Mountain West Championship record 1:52.82, she was more than a body length ahead of anybody else, and it wasn't even Storm who was closest to her, it was UNLV's Grace Wharton in 1:55.32. Storm finished a distant third.

Naturally, it was a school record for Whineray, but most importantly, the time was below the NCAA qualifying standard giving her an automatic entry to the NCAA Championships in Atlanta on March 18-21. She becomes the first Ram to qualify for the NCAA meet since 2013 when Breann Fuller went in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes.

After a load of hugs and tears and holding up a big sign on the podium declaring it to be true, the junior said it may take a few more days to actually accept the reality.

"I don't think it has. I didn't even cry until after I got my medal," Whineray said. "I think I was in a bit of shock, and I think I still am. I'm thinking about going to Georgia and I'm like, 'oh, it's actually happening.' This is something that I've been wanting for so long and now it's real and it's going to take a little bit of time to sit alone."

What made Whineray cry tears of joy was not her good fortune, but that of her roommate and classmate Mia Axelman. The mere mention of her name started the waterworks which only made Axelman laugh.

There was good reason for emotion from the both of them considering the weekend Axelman had. She entered the meet seeded 19^th in both the 50 and 100 freestyles and exited All-Mountain West in both. After placing eighth in the shorter race earlier and cracking the top 10, she took it a step further in the 100 free.

She placed fifth, her 49.19 in the finals the second fastest time at the school trailing one Amy Van Dyken.

"I'm just so proud of her. She works so hard and just to see that come to fruition at the biggest meet of the season … I'm just so proud of her. It's beyond words," Whineray said. "She's been going 50s, 49s in training, and she doesn't even train with us for the last six weeks, but we see her. She's training so hard, you've got to have a different mental capacity to train by yourself and to train that hard by yourself."

It wasn't easy, but the benefits were pretty cool, though they didn't come in just a weekend or the past six weeks.

It started with her getting stronger and becoming more toned. Her kick has improved, as well as her ability to hold it longer and churn more water. By the midpoint of the season, she could sense changes brewing.

"I was like feeling good, but I wasn't super happy with where I was. I think the last three months I focused on details and executing things properly," Axelman said, who then joined Whineray, Azalea Shepherd and Lexie Trietley to break the school record in the 400 free relay. "The last couple of weeks I went to best time in practice, and I was like, 'OK, it's time to go.

"I think I also really dialed in the mental aspect of it and just had fun. I was too in my head and just stressing the outcome, and so just having so much fun this year made it possible."

Coach Christopher Woodard watched take place what both he and Axelman hoped would eventually happen. It was a discussion when they chatted when she was a prep looking for a school, but it came with no timetable.

That made the weekend even more special.

"I think both of us would agree, and we talked about it when I was recruiting her, I didn't necessarily envision this kind of progression and how it stalled maybe early in her career," he said. "Then really took off in a season and a half. So hats off to her. She made changes, and those changes yielded big results."

Plenty of those came. The relay record was a nice way to finish a meet where the Rams finished eighth with 628.5 points. While the junior class was taking the spotlight, a couple of seniors made sure to take a final bow.

Two heats before Whineray was to be crowned queen, Erin Dawson reminded everyone she is the master of versatility. She'd never competed in the 200 back at conference but placed 18^th and did so with a time of 1:58.50 which is tied for fifth at the school with former teammate Maisy Barbosa.

When the meet concluded, the coaches voted her the Senior Recognition Award, a final curtain call for the eight-time All-Mountain West performer who holds two school records and now ranks in the top 10 in five different events.

She's always been aware of how her team sees her, understanding she's a leader and a mentor to many. What caught her off guard was others around the league see it, too.

"I don't really realize that people see me in that way, especially since I didn't come from a lot," she said. "I'm just really proud to be a part of this team. I think I made the best decision in my life to be with CSU."

In the 200 breaststroke, Claire Wright penned a fitting final chapter for her career at the school. She showed up a walk-on and became a team captain. Each and every season she plugged away in the breaststroke events, always dropping time.

The biggest dip came in her final race as she placed 10^th in 2:13.58, a time which ranks second at the school.

"It doesn't often happen that you have a walk-on athlete who doesn't have great exposure in the sport because they're a dual-sport athlete and then come on and just consistently every year continue to just grow both mentally and physically," Woodard said. "So where she is, hats off to her.

"As far as our Swiss Army Knife, Erin, she's irreplaceable. There aren't swimmers who can swim just about every single event in the lineup."

Gabby Hall scored in the 100 free, and Sophia Hemingway placed in the 200 back while Delaney Engel and Margo Hauser produced in the 1,650 free. Seniors Trietley and Shepherd added points in the 100 on their final night of collegians, walking off the deck with one final record, the relay placing fifth in 3:18.83. It always brings emotions, but what it hasn't brought to the program in a while is an extension.

The season will go on as Whineray represents Colorado State on the national stage. Woodard entered the night hopeful, and truth be told, a bit confident because Whineray has been swimming so well.

But one never knows. Until they actually do.

"I'd love to say something cool like the minute she stepped behind the blocks I knew. And I did, but right at the 75 was when I could already see she was controlling her stroke," he said. "She was going to slowly reel Abby in. Again, it sounds humdrum and kind of basic, but she's just executed her race plan all season long, and she hasn't deterred from it or gotten away from it, let anyone shake her. And that was really the key tonight. I wanted to make sure nothing would shake her."

Nothing did. Not the start, because she's seen that before. But when she hit the wall at the midpoint and surged to the front, it was lights out. She'd weathered Storm, but more importantly, herself.

"I thought this is this is it, and that's when it starts to hurt and you just gotta push through," Whineray said. "It's gonna hurt whether you go fast or slow so I was like I might as well try and go fast.

"That was how I thought it was gonna go. I knew she was gonna go out fast and I knew I couldn't freak out. If I freaked out it would have been over, so I'm really glad I have three years of learning to take into that race and really come out qualified with something."

Not just something, a championship. Not just a championship, but an invitation to the biggest stage the sport has to offer.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Axelman

Maisy Barbosa

Erin Dawson

Delaney Engel

Gabby Hall

Margo Hauser

Sophia Hemingway

Azalea Shepherd

Lexie Trietley

Tess Whineray

Claire Wright