Sports@DominionPost.com
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia swim teams picked up high placements in Friday’s installment of the Big 12 Championship at Mylan Park.
For the women, Morgan Bullock and Alex Pampalone had top-5 finishes, each improving from their preliminary times. Bullock took 3rd in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.92 while Pampalone placed 4th in the 400 IM in 4:18.81.
The women’s 200 freestyle relay team of Emily Haimes, Julia Nilton, Emma Bliss and Bullock also had a top-5 placement, taking 4th in 1:31.77.
For the men, 11 made the cut for the top heat and seven had top-5 placements. All garnered points for the Mountaineers.
David Dixon was the first to race, taking 6th in the 100 fly (46.98). Dixon was followed by Josh Harlan and Phillip Kay, taking 4th and 5th respectively in the 400 IM. Fausto Huerta, Jack Portmann and Ben Brooks then hit the lanes in the 100 breaststroke, taking 3rd, 5th and 7th, respectively. Max Gustafson was the only WVU racer in the 200 free, taking 7th (1:39.47). The 100 backstroke was the final race of the day, and four Mountaineers garnered points: Hunter Armstrong (3rd, 46.22), Angelo Russo (4th, 47.80), Trayton Saladin (5th, 48.31) and Ryan Van Wyk (8th, 49.45).
The Big 12 Championships end Saturday evening as a round of prelims begin at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The final heats are slated for 6 p.m.
