• NM State Swimming and Diving is gearing up for its 17^th appearance in the Western Athletic Conference Championships.
• This year's four-day event is set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 22, with competition concluding on Saturday, Feb. 25.
• The meet will take place in Pharr, Texas, at the City of Pharr Natatorium with prelims slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. MT each day. Following prelims, finals will get underway at approximately 5 p.m. MT and will be available to watch live via ESPN+.
• The Aggies will be traveling 24 student-athletes, including senior Maude Boily-Dufour who claimed gold in both the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke at the 2021 WAC Championships.
• Entering Wednesday, four Aggies have times across 12 events that rank in the top five in the WAC this season. Lindsay Puhalski's time of 4:18.78 is the fastest in the WAC this season while she also ranks inside the top five in the WAC in three other events (200 back, 100 IM and 200 IM). Puhalski also serves as the Aggies' anchor in both the 200 free relay and 400 free relay; each of which has times that rank in the top three in the league this season.
• Additionally, freshman phenom Naomi Slee is also lined up to accomplish big things this weekend as she ranks inside the top five in four different events (200 free, 500 free, 1000 free and 1650 free) while also serving on the Aggies' top 400 free relay team who currently ranks third in the WAC.
• Senior Aimee Burton is positioned to aim for the podium in several events as well as her season-best times in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 IM rank among the five best WAC times this year.
• Lastly, Thea Masselink's time in the 200 back joins Puhalski as one of the top five 200 back swimmers in the WAC heading into the final meet of the year.
• Head Coach Rick Pratt has been at the helm for the Aggies since 2005 – making him the only coach to have led the Aggies during their time in the WAC.
• During Pratt's tenure, NM State has produced 20 individual WAC Champions while Pratt has earned the title of WAC Coach of the Year four times (2009, 2010, 2017, 2019).
 
MEET HISTORY | NM State at the WAC Championships
2022 | Houston | 4^th, 476 points
2021 | St. George, Utah/Flagstaff, Ariz. | 2^nd, 619 points
2020 | Houston | 4^th, 497 points
2019 | Houston | 2^nd, 582 points
2018 | Houston | 2^nd, 601 points
2017 | Houston | 2^nd, 551 points
2016 | Houston | 2^nd, 448 points
2015 | Houston | 2^nd, 539 points
2014 | San Antonio | 3^rd, 528 points
2013 | San Antonio | 5^th, 331.5 points
2012 | San Antonio | 4^th, 429 points
2011 | San Antonio | 5^th, 405 points
2010 | San Antonio | 2^nd, 494 points
2009 | San Antonio | 3^rd, 572 points
2008 | San Antonio | 5^th, 460.5 points
2007 | San Antonio | 5^th, 359 points
2006 | San Antonio | 6^th, 313 points
 
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 200, New Mexico 100 | 1.28.23 | RECAP
• Lindsay Puhalski shined in the Aggies' final meet of the season – tallying first-place finishes in the 200 free (1:55.19), 200 IM (2:09.45) and 200 breast (2:26.09).
• Thea Masselink turned in a pair of gold medal finishes herself as she claimed the top spot in the 100 back (58.66) and 200 back (2:05.52) while also finishing second behind Puhalski in the 200 IM (2:14.52)
• Against the Lobos, Naomi Slee also finished with two first-place times as she was fastest in the 500 free (5:09.37) and 1000 free (10:34.75).
• Four other Aggies also secured the top spot in their respective events as Estel Galo, Aimee Burton, Kate Malinowski and Italia Aranzabal managed first-place finishes nearly one month ago.
 
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH RICK PRATT
"We're excited to be in Pharr, Texas, at this great complex. Our team is ready to compete, and this should be a week filled with historic performances. Our team has sacrificed much to get to this point, and this week is more of a celebration of their commitments and hard work. To be successful, we've got to stay composed and take one race, one session at a time.  This is a long week of competition and our process of owning the pool deck and everything that goes into that needs to come through."
 
FOLLOW ALONG
• Fans interested in keeping up with the Aggies' performances at the 2023 WAC Swimming & Diving Championships can do so via the WAC's Championship Central page where links for results and live streams will be available.
• All four days will be available for live streaming on either WAC International or ESPN+. For viewers in the United States, the prelims will be shown on WAC International while finals will be available on ESPN+ starting at approximately 5 p.m. MT each day.
• For viewers outside of the U.S., both the prelims and finals will be available to watch on WAC International all weekend long.