USAFA, Colo. –  The University of Denver men's swimming and diving team opened its 2018-19 dual season with a 183-114 victory over Air Force on Thursday night at the Cadet Natatorium.
 
"I'm happy with our effort in our swims tonight," head coach Brian Schrader said. "It's a good place to start, but we are going to have to be a lot better to compete with Wyoming in our home pool on Saturday."
 
Denver got individual victories from seven different student-athletes on Thursday night, including first-time individual winners Hugo Sykes (Weston, Conn.), Anthony Nosack (Beaverton, Ore.), Alex Morgan (Dyer, Ind.) and David Mihalic (Ljubljana, Slovenia).
 
DU had three swimmers earn multiple individual event wins on Thursday. Sophomore Cameron Auchinachie (Binghamton, N.Y.) swept the two freestyle sprints, clocking in at 20.34 in the 50 free and 46.61 in the 100 free. Junior Colin Gilbert (Kamloops, B.C.) took both of the distance races on Thursday night, recording times of 9:49.05 in the 1000 free and 4:41.07 in the 500 free. Junior Neil Wachtler (Waco, Texas) won both backstroke events to pick up two more wins for the Pioneers, finishing the 100 in 50.09 and the 200 in 1:52.70.
 
The Pioneers opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay. The quartet of Wachtler, sophomore Cy Jager (Moscow, Idaho), classmate Adriel Sanes (Rosharon, Texas) and Auchinachie combined for a time of 1:32.40 to edge out the Falcons A-Relay.
 
Junior Jesse Haraden (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) backed up Gilbert's 1000 free win with a second place finish in a time of 9:51.36, while freshman Gavin McGee (San Jose, Calif.) took fourth with a time of 10:05.28.
 
Sykes' first victory came in the 200 free (1:42.26), two spots ahead of Mihalic who took third in his first collegiate individual race with a time of 1:45.28.
 
Sophomore Jackson Gainer (San Jose, Calif.) finished second in the 50 free, just 0.4 seconds behind his teammate Auchinachie who grabbed his first individual event win of the season.
 
On the other side of the diving break, Auchinachie and Sykes finished 1-2 in the 100 free with times of 46.61 and 46.84, respectively.
 
Wachtler finished off his backstroke sweep with a time of 1:52.70 to lead a trio of Pioneers that swept the podium in the event. Freshman Patrick Groters (Santa Cruz, Aruba) took second with a 1:55.00, while sophomore Trent Panzera (Gauteng, South Africa) finished third in 1:57.25.
 
Denver didn't win the 200 breaststroke, but did take spots 2-4 in the race. Nosack clocked in at 2:07.53, Mihalic recorded a 2:11.19 and freshman Blayze Jessen (Denver, Colo.) reached the final wall in 2:12.19.
 
Morgan finished fourth in the 3-meter diving event that preceded his first diving victory against Division I opposition in the 1-meter where the Denver junior scored a 261.38.
 
Mihalic's first win came in the final individual event of his collegiate debut as the Denver freshman out-touched his teammate Jessen by 1.23 seconds in the 200 IM to take the race.
 
The Pioneers capped off the night with Sykes, Auchinachie, Sanes and Wachtler combining to finish the 400 free relay in 3:06.91, winning the race by 2.1 seconds.
 
Thursday Night's Event Wins
200 Medley Relay – Neil Wachtler, Cy Jager, Adriel Sanes, Cameron Auchinachie – 1:32.40
1000 Freestyle – Colin Gilbert – 9:49.05
200 Freestyle – Hugo Sykes – 1:42.26
100 Backstroke – Neil Wachtler – 50.09
100 Breaststroke – Anthony Nosack – 57.74
50 Freestyle – Cameron Auchinachie – 20.34
100 Freestyle – Cameron Auchinachie – 46.61
200 Backstroke – Neil Wachtler – 1:52.70
500 Freestyle – Colin Gilbert – 4:41.07
1-Meter Dive – Alex Morgan – 261.38
200 IM – David Mihalic – 1:56.01
400 Freestyle Relay – Hugo Sykes, Cameron Auchinachie, Adriel Sanes, Neil Wachtler – 3:06.91
 
UP NEXT:
Denver's men will return to its home pool on Saturday to co-host a meet against Wyoming with the women's program on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT.
 
Fans interested in making a donation to the men's and women's swimming and diving programs can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.   
 
-Pioneer Together-

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