The University of Idaho swim and dive team traveled to Long Beach, California, on Saturday, Oct. 17, to compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Open Water Championship. The competition followed the Vandals’ home-opening victory against Seattle University and gave three Idaho swimmers an opportunity to compete in the women’s 5K.
The appearance marked Idaho’s third year competing at the MPSF Open Water Championship and its second season in the conference. During the Vandals’ first appearance in the 2024-25 season, Idaho record-holder Ginger Kiefer won the women’s 5K and earned a spot at the Open Water National Championships.
This season, junior Holly Lenarz led the Vandals with a 10th-place finish, while Gabriella Stanton and Marie Mason also represented Idaho in the event. All three swimmers showed improvement compared with their previous performances at the championship, giving the Vandals a strong showing in the long-distance competition.
Lenarz finished the women’s 5K in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 8.8 seconds, averaging a pace of 1 minute, 17 seconds per 100 meters. Her performance improved on her previous personal best by more than three minutes, according to the times provided.
During the previous season, Lenarz recorded a time of 1:07:32, improving on her freshman-year performance of 1:09:31, which placed her 12th overall. Her latest result continues a positive start to the season following an impressive performance at Idaho’s previous meet, where she won both the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle.
Lenarz’s top-10 finish gave Idaho its leading result of the championship and highlighted her continued development in distance swimming. Her progression across three seasons also demonstrated the strides she has made competing at the event.
Second-year Vandal Gabriella Stanton finished 19th in the women’s 5K with a time of 1:06:42.1, maintaining an average pace of 1:20 per 100 meters.
Stanton improved on her previous championship performance, when she finished the race in 1:09:39. The improvement added to a strong stretch for the Idaho swimmer, who earned third place in the 500-yard freestyle at the team’s previous meet.
Her performance in Long Beach gave the Vandals another finish inside the top 20. Stanton’s progress in the open-water event, combined with her recent success in pool competition, provided another positive result for Idaho early in the season.
Junior Marie Mason rounded out Idaho’s three competitors, finishing 20th in the women’s 5K with a time of 1:06:49.7. Like Stanton, Mason averaged a pace of 1:20 per 100 meters.
Mason, a previous First Team All-MPSF selection, also demonstrated improvement in the event. Her previous results were listed as 1:16.01 and 1:17:09, with her latest performance reportedly representing an improvement of nearly 11 seconds over her most recent time.
Mason entered the championship following a productive performance at the previous meet, where she won the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley. Her finish in Long Beach added to her recent success and gave Idaho another competitor with strong results across different swimming events.
Together, the three swimmers helped Idaho secure a top-10 finish through Lenarz while placing all three competitors inside the top 20. Their performances continued the momentum from the Vandals’ home-opening victory against Seattle University and provided another opportunity to build experience in open-water competition.
The championship also offered Idaho an early-season benchmark as the team continues preparing for upcoming meets. With Lenarz, Stanton and Mason all improving on their previous performances, the Vandals showed encouraging progress in the 5K while continuing to build on their recent success in pool events.
Following a two-week break, Idaho will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to face Northern Arizona. The matchup will provide another test for the Vandals as they look to maintain their momentum against a familiar conference opponent.
Last season, Idaho defeated Northern Arizona in the programs’ first meeting following their respective moves from the Western Athletic Conference to the MPSF. Northern Arizona had won 12 consecutive WAC championships before the conference transition.
The Vandals will look to build on their early-season performances when they return to competition, with the upcoming matchup providing another opportunity to measure their progress against a strong opponent.