MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After four days of competition, the West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams concluded competition at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championship on Saturday, hosted by the Mountaineers at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park for the first time in program history.
 
The final day's excitement began early, as the Mountaineer divers set three new program records in the platform competition. First, sophomore Nick Cover and freshman Holly Darling notched record-breaking scores in the platform diving preliminary rounds. Cover recorded a score of 340.75 to break the previous program best of 339.60, set by redshirt senior Austin Smith in 2018. However, Smith countered Cover's prelim performance in the finals, reclaiming the record with a score of 349.80. For Darling, she earned a mark of 231.65 to top Haily VandePoel's 2015 record of 222.60.
 
In all, the Mountaineers collected 11 total medals at the 2020 Big 12 Championship. On the final day of action, WVU added a trio of silvers from seniors Morgan Bullock and Alex Pampalone and the men's 400 freestyle relay team. Senior David Dixon and the women's 400 freestyle relay team added two more bronze to the medal count.
 
Additionally, diving coach Michael Grapner was named the Co-Men's Diving Coach of the Meet, as voted on by the coaching staffs of each participating school. Grapner was previously award the honor in 2018. Matt Scoggin of Texas also was named Co-Men's Diving Coach of the Meet.
 
"What an excellent week for our program, Mylan Park and WVU Athletics," Mountaineer coach Vic Riggs said. "We had a very good final night, and we finished with some very strong relays. Though we came up a few points short of fourth place on the women's side, our ladies battled all the way to the end. The men had a very strong meet in second place. I'm very proud of these teams, and we have a nice group going to the CSCAA meet in two weeks to make a push toward NCAAs."
 
The final session of the championship began with the men's platform final. Smith led the way with his record-breaking fourth-place finish. Cover and sophomore PJ Lenz followed in fifth (346.00) and sixth (345.80), respectively. Finally, redshirt sophomore Jacob Cardinal Tremblay placed seventh (283.85), and classmate Jake Lowe finished eighth (265.95).
 
"This was a fantastic day for the men," Grapner said. "That was a fun competition, and it all came down to the last dive for Austin, Nick and PJ. This was a bittersweet day for Austin, as he has been the platform record-holder for the past three years. When Nick broke it in prelims, he knew he needed to get it back, and that's exactly what he did. I'm so happy for all of the divers, and I can't wait to see what we do at Zones in a few weeks."
 
Finals in the competition pool began with the 200 backstroke, where three Mountaineers competed in the women's consolation final. Junior Ally VanNetta claimed second place after touching the wall in 1:59.64, while sophomore Megan Zartman claimed fifth (2:04.90) and Pampalone placed sixth (2:06.95). For the men, a trio of Mountaineers made the event's championship final. Junior Angelo Russo led the squad in fifth place with a time of 1:46.22, followed by sophomore Josh Harlan in sixth (1:46.57), and senior Trayton Saladin in eighth (1:48.91).
 
Freshman Emily Haimes was the lone Mountaineer to compete in the 100 free A final, as she claimed seventh place after touching the wall in 50.52. Sophomore Emma Bliss placed fourth in the B final with a time of 50.82. In the men's event, Armstrong paced the squad with a fourth-place finish (42.91), and junior Ryen Van Wyk followed in seventh (49.53).
 
The 1,650-yard freestyle came next, and Pampalone placed second (16:55.32) for WVU, claiming the Mountaineers' first individual silver of the week. Junior Max Gustafson placed fifth for the men's team (15:46.16), while freshman Zach Boley followed in sixth (15:48.11).
 
In the 200 breaststroke, freshman Mathilde Kaelbel was the lone Mountaineer competitor, placing second in the consolation final after touching the pads in 2:18.01. Senior Jack Portmann finished seventh in the A final for the men (2:00.04), followed by sophomore Fausto Huerta in eighth (2:01.73).
 
WVU claimed a pair of medals in the 200 butterfly events, as Bullock secured second for the women in 1:58.89, and Dixon finished third for the men (1:43.58). Sophomore Reka Kovacs also competed in the women's championship final, finishing seventh (2:02.97), while senior Jack Frazier placed fifth in the men's event (1:48.52), and Boley followed in eighth (1:50.68).
 
In the final event in the diving well, Darling once again represented the Mountaineers in the women's platform finals, placing eighth with a score of 193.50. In the consolation finals, sophomore Camille Burt captured fifth place for 13th overall with a score of 205.55, while freshman Marian Tiemeier followed in sixth (202.00).
 
The 2020 Big 12 Championship concluded with the 400 freestyle relay, where the women's team of Haimes, Bliss, senior Julia Nilton and Bullock placed third with a time of 3:21.56. The men's team of Armstrong, Van Wyk, junior Chris O'Shea and senior Sam Neaveill claimed second place and touched the wall in 2:54.22 to earn the silver medal.
 
In the final team standings, the Mountaineer men finished in second place for the fifth straight season with a final team score of 873 points. On the women's side, WVU finished in fifth place with 448 points. The Texas men and women once again earned the championship titles, as the men topped the leaderboard with 1,127 points, and the women earned 1,012.
 
Up next for West Virginia, a handful of Mountaineers will participate in the NCAA Last Chance Meet, on Sunday, March 1, in order to try to earn an NCAA-qualifying time. Sunday's action at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.