PHARR, Texas – Getting out of the blocks quickly is essential to a strong race. This is the same mentality that the Aggies have taken toward the beginning of the WAC Championships. Through two days of events at the Pharr Natatorium, NM State is in second place with a total of 231 points.
 
Their first two days were highlighted by five podium finishes, including earning silver in a pair of races on Thursday evening. In the first event of the week, the Aggies raced their way to a bronze finish as Lindsay Puhalski, Naomi Slee, Dreamer Kowatch and Katie Rink teamed up to secure a third-place finish in the 800 free relay. Their time of 7:17.62 would also represent their first program record of the week.
 
Day one also saw the Aggies earn points in the one-meter dive as both Italia Aranzabal and Mira Tinani chipped in to the team total. Aranzabal led the way for the Aggies by qualifying for finals before claiming eighth with a score of 234.20.
 
On Thursday, the Aggie swimmers made their presence felt as they claimed podium finishes in each of the four events contested while eight Aggies qualified for the finals in their respective events. To start the day, the team of Emily Dobbins, Kathryn Gyde, Emilee Ferrari and Katie Rink combined to take second in the 200 free relay in addition to setting another school record.
 
Naomi Slee then claimed her second medal of the meet as she found her way into the top three in the 500 free for the second straight season. This year, she secured bronze with a time of 4:49.67. Lindsay Puhalski then crushed her own school record as she swam to a second-place finish in the 200 IM (1:59.86) while becoming the first Aggie ever to swim sub-two-minutes in the event.
 
Emily Dobbins then joined Slee and Puhalski as Aggies with multiple medals across the first two days as she collected a bronze medal in the 50 free – posting a time of 23.20.
 
The NM State divers also returned to the boards on Thursday as they competed from the 3-meter height. From the higher board, three Aggies claimed points as Casey Schmidt and Italia Aranzabal qualified for the B final while Mira Tinani earned a spot among the top eight divers.
 
Friday, the Aggies will compete in the 400 IM, the 100 fly, the 200 free, the 100 breast, the 100 back and the 400 medley relay with prelims getting underway at 9:30 a.m. MT and finals beginning at 5 p.m.
 
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