Colorado State’s Lexie Trietley Breaks 29-Year-Old Pool Record In Rams’ Win Over Denver

Colorado State vs Denver

• October 28, 2023
• Fort Collins, Colo.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Mike Brohard / Colorado State Athletics

Breaking records is always cool.

Breaking a mark set by America’s original Golden Girl – six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken – well, that’s something altogether different. And for Lexie Trietley, not enough.

“I’m excited, but I’m really after those school records she has,” the Colorado State sophomore said. “It was pretty exciting and awesome to break the pool record in our good ol’ Moby.”

Trietley was part of two pool-record swims on the day, as the Rams took down the 200-yard medley mark to open Friday’s Pink Out dual with Denver en route to a 169.5-130.5 dual victory at Moby Pool. The 1:42.93 the Rams’ quad of Trietley, Tess Whineray, Katie McClelland and Lucy Matheson posted to open the meet eclipsed the 2017 standard set in 2017 by Houston.

Trietley’s individual mark came right before the first diving break, her 23.21 in the 50 free bettering Van Dyken’s time of 23.35 back in 1994, the year she won the NCAA Championship in the event.

Van Dyken’s amazing performance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics came seven years before Trietley was even born, and it wasn’t until she started looking at Colorado State as an option before Trietley really knew the depth of Van Dyken’s accomplishments. Learning just gave her purpose.

“I told (Coach Christopher Woodard) last year I was going to break one or more of her records,” Trietley said. “I think that’s why I set goals, is to just keep me hungry, keep me going and motivated, want to continue swimming and competing. I think it’s confirming that my training schedule this year is working. It’s a little different than last year. It’s confirming what I’m doing is working and to have faith and trust in Woody and (associate head coach) Lisa (Ginder).”

Trietley, who earned All-Mountain West honors in both the 50 and 100 frees, has a bit still to shave for those school records – a 21.77 in the 50, 48.29 in the 100 – which is fine, because for her, it’s always good to have a target for which to aim. Woodard likes it too, because the more she’s encouraged, the more she pushes herself.

To him, both records were incredibly encouraging for similar reasons.

“That’s the first time in my tenure here we’ve been able to post two 1:42s on the medley relay this early in the season,” he said. “We’ve not been able to do that unless we’ve bene out of altitude, but that 23.21, this pool hasn’t seen a time that fast in decades. That’s very cool and very special for Lexie and well deserved.

“I mean, Lexie’s always set her sites on it. She said Amy was such a prime example of someone swimming at a high level in these conditions, so she was like why can’t I do that.”

The sad sidenote on the medley relay is it has to change, because Friday represented the final meet of the season for McClelland, a junior who is facing surgery to repair an injury. Since her arrival three years ago, McClelland has held the breaststroke leg of the medley relay teams, but now the Rams are going to need somebody else to take the spot and keep the squad just as fast.

Open competition is not a bad thing, the way Woodard sees things.

“I think it’s still to be determined. Claire (Wright) impressed us with her medley split in the 100  breast. I think she sees there’s an opening and she made a charge for it,” Woodard said. “I have no doubt that everybody else is going to make a run for it as well. That’s the whole point. We tell athletes coming in, you’re putting a target on somebody else’s back in training and across the conference. The idea is now the target is now on your back. If you’re not a person who is seeking an opening, then you’re not somebody I want as a coach. I want competitors.”

He found one in Whineray. The freshman from Auckland, New Zealand has been a boon from the first meet, continuing her run in the backstroke events by winning both the 100 and 200 distances against the Pioneers. Both she and Woodard knew there was going to be a bit of an adjustment for her, having trained all her life in short-course meters. That means her counts for where the wall is have been different, affecting her turns and underwater work.

Even still, she’s been very fast, going 56.31 and 2:03.81 in the meet.

“I think probably in training I think more about the turns and the underwaters and things more than the swim. The swim will do itself because of your swimming,” she said. “I am getting more confidence. I’m happy so far.”

So are the Rams, because as Trietley said, Whineray and her classmates have had an impact on the team with their ability to push in training, especially their ability to not back down.

That’s an attitude which Whineray has carried with her from the start. She doesn’t care that she’s young or facing collegiate swimmers with more experience. Her approach has been somebody has to take the race from her.

“It’s been pretty great so far, winning dual meets with the team, that’s what really drew me here. I always want to win,” Whineray said. “That’s the goal. I don’t think it matters if you’re a freshman or not. I was a little bit intimidated, but you have to push past that because everyone is the same in the pool.”

The Rams won both relays, with Trietley making a charge as the anchor to touch-out the Pioneers by .5 in the 200 free relay to end the day. Matheson was on both relays, winning a pair of events herself, both the 100 and 200 butterflies. Erin Dawson was the fourth Ram two win two races, taking the 200 free and 200 individual medley.

In four races, the Rams finished 1-2: the 50 and 100 frees (with Megan Hager in second), the 200 free (Anika Johnson followed) and the 200 back (with Sophia Hemingway).

Overall, plenty to be encouraged by for the Rams, if even just for a short while. Trietley didn’t expect her record smile to last very long. There’s work to be done, but more to the point, a sunrise to contend with for an early practice on Saturday.

“Until tomorrow morning when I wake up for practice,” she said. “I’m just not a morning person.”

Courtesy: Denver Athletics

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The University of Denver women’s swimming and diving team dropped a road dual to Colorado State on Friday night at Moby Pool.

Team Score:
Colorado State – 169.5
Denver – 130.5

Event Wins:
Women’s 100 Breast – Jessica Maeda – 1:03.69
Women’s 3-Meter Dive – Savanna Berry – 281.25
Women’s 200 Breast – Jessica Maeda – 2:18.80
Women’s 500 Free – Daniela Alfaro Saldana – 5:03.43
Women’s 1-Meter Dive – Kaelyn Hinesley – 275.63

How it Happened:
In the first distance swim of the evening in Fort Collins, Denver took spots 2-4 in the 1000 free. Nika Spehar clocked in at 10:28.22, Daniela Alfaro Saldana earned third in 10:37.54 and Genevieve Franklin recorded a 10:46.58 to finish fourth.

Jessica Maeda earned Denver’s first event win of the dual, earning a 1:03.69 in the 100 breast to take the top spot.

Denver took spots 2-4 once again in the 200 fly. Mia Moulden led the Denver trio with a 2:05.39, Sabrina Rachjaibun clocked in a 2:06.92 to take third and Sarah Turchanik finished fourth in 2:08.58.

Savanna Berry earned the top score in the 3-meter dive on Friday evening with a score of 281.25. Kaelyn Hinesley took third with a 263.78 and Kaitlin Calvery earned fourth place with a 256.13.

Maeda earned her second and Denver’s third event win with a 2:18.80 in the 200 breast.

Saldana made it back-to-back Pioneer victories, earning a win in the 500 free with her 5:03.43. Rachjaibun finished second with her time of 5:03.53.

Hinesley and Berry took a 1-2 finish in the 1-meter dive. Hinesley earned a score of 275.63, while Berry’s dives accumulated 265.50 points.

UP NEXT:
Denver will have a little more than a month without a competition before heading back to the Big Al Invite in Princeton, New Jersey. The event will begin with a long course time trial on Thursday, November 30, before the three-day weekend meet begins on Friday, December 1.