ST. GEORGE — It didn’t take long for Dixie State to add its first Western Athletic Conference hardware to its cabinets once competition actually started.
Freshman Haley Altman was named the WAC’s Women’s Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 10, securing the first accolade for the school in its new Division I conference.
In the BYU Dual on Nov. 7, Altman set a school record in the 100 yard breaststroke, her first individual race at DSU, with a 1:01.97 to top the previous record by more than a second. The next-place finisher in the event was more than three seconds behind.
Altman also took the second leg in the 200 medley relay to contribute to a second-place finish in that event, setting another school record at 1:44.99. She also placed fourth in the 200 breast with a 2:21.85. All scores in the event were altitude adjusted.
“Haley’s performance was the exclamation mark on a really good season debut for us,” DSU head coach Tamber McAllister said. “We are excited that Haley and our program received the first WAC award of the season and that will serve as motivation to keep improving day after day, week after week, as we move closer to the bulk of our schedule in January.”
Altman’s award comes in the first WAC competition for DSU after a promotion to Division I was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. No sport other than swimming has competed to date, and the only other WAC school to have hit the pool is Northern Colorado.
Altman is a Tennessee native who graduated from Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah, where she was an all-state and all-region selection.
Dixie State does not swim again until Jan. 15. However, opportunities for more WAC acknowledgement are on the horizon. Men’s basketball begins on Nov. 28 and women’s basketball starts three days later at home against BYU.
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