LAS VEGAS – NM State wrapped up the opening day of competition at the UNLV Winter Invite -ending the day with 142 total points and in fourth place among a deep field.
 
The Aggies turned in one of their best performances of the season to start the meet as the quartet of Aimee Burton, Katie Rink, Kira Brownell and Lindsay Puhalski combined to claim a fourth-place finish in the 200 free relay. Their time of one minute and 34.07 seconds ranks as the second-fastest in the WAC this season.
 
Puhalski then shined as an individual in the 200 individual medley where she turned in a time of 2:03.03 to finish sixth in the A final. Puhalski's relay teammate Burton also put together a good solo performance as she finished fourth in the 50 free with a time of 23.20.
 
In the 500 free, freshman Estel Galo qualified for the A final with a time of 4:57.24 before finishing eighth overall with a finals time of 5:00.57. Galo's prelim time also ranks sixth all-time in NM State history. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Naomi Slee's time of 4:54.12 was good for best in the B final while also ranking third in program history.
 
On the boards, NM State's Italia Aranzabal turned in the Aggies' top finish as she earned a final score of 279.80 to finish in sixth place.

QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
"We had many great swims today and our team showed a lot of toughness, especially the way they improved from the morning. We've got to be smart about how we recover from session to session and keep our energy high. We have lots of swimming left and today was a great start. The divers showed a lot of progress today all scoring their best scores of the year, they are getting better with each meet. This was a solid day and very beneficial for our process."
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies' weekend in Las Vegas will continue on Sunday as they are slated to compete in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 1-meter dive beginning with prelims at 9:30 a.m. PT.
 
Aggie fans can follow along via a live stream provided by UNLV Athletics on YouTube or by tracking live stats here.