Final Results
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Three distance swimmers and one premier CSCAA competition equaled a top ten finish for the NM State women's swimming & diving squad.
Nicole Salladin produced a top-20 finish, freshman Millie Sicko placed among the top 25 competitors and the NM State women's swimming & diving distance trio posted an impressive eighth-place finish at the CSCAA National Collegiate Open Water Swimming Championship Friday morning at Lone Star Lake.
THE RACE
• In all, 70 women's distance swimmers from across NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III leaped in the water at Lone Star Lake to traverse the five-kilometer course.
• Salladin, who picked up points for NM State at last season's WAC Swimming & Diving Championships, was the Aggies' top finisher by traversing the course in 1:07:25.6. That time was good for a 19th-place finish and allowed Salladin to best five competitors from Power Five institutions.
• Not far behind Salladin was Sicko who made her collegiate debut. The freshman out of Phoenix, Ariz., swam the five-kilometer loop in 1:07:51.6 and crossed the finish line in 22nd place. Sicko's time was better than four of the five Kansas swimmers who took part in the event.
• Zoey Dodson rounded out the Aggie trio of competitors by getting clocked in a 34th-place time of 1:08:43.3.
• Nebraska won the event, collecting 17 total points while Rice (31 points) and Purdue (39 points) rounded out the top three.
• NM State's total team score of 75 points allowed it to finish in eighth place ahead of Vermont (117 points) and Niagara (125 points) who placed ninth and 10th respectively.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
"I'm really proud of our young distance group. Overall, today was a great experience and a lot of fun. Nicole really helped our freshmen prepare as she has done for many of these events. For Millie and Zoey, it was their first event, they got better as the race went on and had really solid third laps. Open water is somewhat of a contact sport and battling for different positions and judging their lines is something they can all improve on. Today was a great way to start the season with some extra endurance and it will help push them forward into the start of our session."
COMING UP NEXT
• Once they return to Las Cruces, the Aggies won't leave there for the remainder of the month. NM State's next action of the 2021-22 campaign is set for Saturday, Sept. 25 when the Aggies host their Alumnae Meet at 11:00 a.m. From there, the team's annual intrasquad meet, the Crimson & White Meet, will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 3:00 p.m. at the NM State Swimming & Diving Complex.
• For complete coverage of NM State women's swimming & diving, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Swimming & Diving), Twitter (@NMStateSwimDive) and Instagram (@NMStateSwimDive).
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