From staff reports

They came, they saw, they conquered. Or more accurately, they went to Iowa, they saw the competition both from teammates and the other schools invited and then they dove into the record books. The team earned 262.5 points and along the way set 20 personal-best marks over seven events.

Freshman Anna Brolin finished second in the 100 fly A-final in 54.60 which was the fifth fastest time for the event in WSU history and also a personal best for her. Just behind Brolin in the same event was senior Alison Mand who touched the wall in 55.15 to claim third place. Fourth place was also claimed by the Cougars. Sophomore Haley Rose Love finished in 55.22. Including a fourth place finish in the B-final by sophomore Kendra Griffin with a time of 56.05, WSU tallied 53 points from the event.

The strong showing for the Cougars didn’t stop after 100 meters. Three swimmers qualified for the 200 free A-final. Freshman Rachel Thompson, senior Nicole Proulx and sophomore Elise Locke all contributed to the total points the Cougars gained from the event. Thompson finished the tied for second place in the final, finishing in 1:49.80 which was a personal best for her and the sixth-fastest time for the event in WSU history. Proulx vault into the finals was provided by her personal best time of 1:50.17. She followed up her preliminary performance with a fourth place finish in the final, clocking a time of 1:50.83. Locke finished the event in eighth place with a time of 1:51.73.

Junior Shaya Schaedler also etched her name in WSU’s record books in the A-prelims of the 100 back with a time of 56.32 which gave her the sixth best time in Cougar history. She went on to race in the final, earning an eighth place finish. Just behind Schaedler was fellow junior Loree Olson who finished the race in 55.67. In the B-final of the same event, freshman Hannah Bruggman made a splash in her first appearance in the 100 back. Bruggman finished in tenth place and her prelim time of 56.30 put her eighth in WSU’s record books. Love claimed the ninth spot for the event in the record books, clocking a time of 56.32 and proceeded to place eleventh in the final.

The relay team comprised of Thompson, Proulx, Locke and Griffin finished third in the 800 free relay to earn 32 points for the Cougars.

In the 100 breast event, Frederikke Hall and junior Presley Wetterstrom tallied 35 points from the event with third and sixth place finishes, respectively. Wetterstrom also competed in the A-final of the 400 IM alongside teammate Olson who finished in fifth and seventh places, respectively. Wetterstrom’s time of 4:24.36 was the ninth-fastest in WSU history. The following day, Wetterstrom broke the WSU record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:12.96 on the third day of the invitation. Wetterstrom swam .40 seconds faster than Elyse Peterson who set the record Wetterstrom broke in 2009.

Wetterstrom’s record was the second school record broken by the Cougars over the weekend. On the first day of competition the WSU record in the 200 free relay was broken with a time of 1:31.56. The final day of competition also brought an onslaught of personal bests; 12 personal bests crumbled, adding to the 37 personal bests set in the first two days of the invitational.

“We swam well today,” WSU Head Coach Tom Jager said. “The team finished the meet strong. We accomplished our goal of having a great final day. We’re pleased, but certainly not satisfied. We’re ready to get back to Pullman and improve for the next competition.”

WSU placed third with 628.5 points at the invitational behind second place Denver (793) and the winner, host school Iowa (1,015.5).

Reporting by Kelsey Jones