HOUSTON- Leah Fisk won the 200-yard freestyle and anchored Idaho's second-place 400-yard medley relay team as the Vandals remained in second place through day three of the Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Friday, in Houston. Fisk's win is the first individual conference title for a Vandal swimmer since 2015, and the 12th since the program was reinstated in 2004.

"These girls were truly awesome tonight and really laid it all on the line," said head coach Mark Sowa. "It was really tremendous to see them decide to be great Vandals today."
 
The Vandals will enter the final day of competition in second place with 415 points, 15 points ahead of third-place New Mexico State and 47 points clear of Grand Canyon in fourth place. Northern Arizona leads the team standings with 545 points. Idaho is looking to match its best finish at a conference championship since the program was reinstated. The Vandals took second at the 2014 WAC Championships and were third last season.
 
Fisk flew out to a big lead at the halfway mark of the 200 freestyle and kept her foot on the gas through the finish line. She stopped the clock first at 1:48.44 to record the fourth-fastest time in program history and win by more than three-tenths of a second. Freshman Emma Schlyter was close behind, finishing third in 1:50.49, a career best and the 18th-fastest time in school history. Aileen Pannecoucke (10th) and Sarah Hall (14th) also scored in the consolation final of the 200 freestyle as Idaho posted 46 points in the event.
 
The 200 freestyle was not the only big haul for the Vandals. Their 100-yard breaststroke crew chipped in 45 points, led by senior Cara Jernigan's runner-up finish. Jernigan earned a silver medal, the best finish of her career at the WAC Championships, with the fifth-fastest time in program history at 1:02.87. Cassie Dallas finished seventh at 1:04.15, while Aimee Iwamoto (t-ninth), Lauren Votava (12th) and Maryann Kok Cher Ling (14th) scored in the consolation final.
 
Junior Emily Kliewer dropped more than half a second off her career best to place third in the 100-yard butterfly. Kliewer swam a 54.60, the third-fastest time in program history, and earned the second bronze medal of her career. She has now finished in the top five of the 100 butterfly in each of her three appearances at the WAC Championships. Dhani Freeland added a 12th-place finish.
 
Alexandria Magrino won the consolation final to lead the Vandals in the 100-yard backstroke.
 
The Vandals' top finishers in each of the individual events Friday teamed up at the end of the meet to make a run at the 400-yard medley relay title. Idaho's quartet of Magrino, Jernigan, Kliewer and Fisk recorded the second-fastest time in school history at 3:42.07 and claimed a second-place finish behind New Mexico State's 3:41.67. Jernigan (breaststroke; 1L01.65) and Kliewer (butterfly; 53.97) posted the fastest splits in the race for each of their strokes.
 
The final day of competition gets started Saturday, at 10:30 a.m. CT/8:30 a.m. PT with prelims. The finals will start at 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT. The event lineup for Saturday includes the 1650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly, platform diving and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
 
Idaho junior Janelle Lucas will vie for her third consecutive conference title on platform.