RESULTS

MOSCOW, Idaho – Idaho swim closed out competition with Washington State on Saturday morning. The Cougars ultimately took the meet, 178-104, but the Vandals saw plenty of positives over the weekend.
 
"We felt great about it. We went from not racing for eight months to having seven sessions in two weeks. That's a ton," said head coach Mark Sowa. "What has been awesome is the attitude has continued to be great. I thought our focus was surprisingly really good this morning. Especially now that this campus is emptying out for fall break, these kids are here racing and representing this university. I'm incredibly proud of them."
 
Kaling Phung battled for a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. She edged out a pair of WSU swimmers late, finishing in 2:04.57. Haylee Buyers also scored for the Vandals in the event, finishing fifth in 2:07.26.
 
Katie Hale also earned a second-place finish on Saturday, in the 100-free. It was a tight race throughout, but WSU's Chloe Larson ultimately took the sprint by 0.07 seconds. Hale finished in 50.53 seconds for second, with teammate Rylie Jones close behind in third at 51.73 seconds.
 
"I love the 100-freestyles, both Rylie's and Katie's were really impressive," Sowa said. "That's about a half second faster for Rylie than it was a week ago, and that's Katie's lifetime best. She's having a nice season so far."
 
Bindi Pedersen grabbed a third-place finish in the 200-yard fly. She finished in 2:09.00. Buyers also scored in the event, taking fifth in 2:10.59.
 
Kailee Puetz and Jennifer Conger both scored for Idaho in the 200-yard breaststroke. Puetz finished in 2:33.12, while Conger was right behind in 2:33.36.
 
"We're psyched to be racing, we're psyched to be healthy," said Sowa. "We're very thankful to have this opportunity to race good competition as well."
 
Next up for the Vandals is a trip to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona, beginning on December 3.
 
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