KEARNEY, Neb. (Nov. 7, 2026) – The Colorado State University Pueblo women's swimming and diving team turned in a record-setting weekend at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Invitational, as senior Laci Denn and freshman diver Autumn Zumpf each established meet records to highlight the ThunderWolves' two days of competition at Kearney High School.
The Pack produced strong performances across multiple events during the two-day invitational, including numerous championship-final appearances, a diving victory and competitive showings from both veteran swimmers and newcomers.
Denn opened the weekend with a record-breaking performance in Friday's 400-yard individual medley, touching the wall in 4:44.07 to establish a new UNK Invitational meet record. Her time surpassed the previous mark held by former CSU Pueblo standout Paola C Wu.
The senior carried that momentum into Saturday's competition, recording two additional top-eight finishes. Denn placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:59.83 before adding a seventh-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:00.77. She also contributed to the ThunderWolves' relay efforts throughout the final day.
While Denn provided the highlight in the pool Friday, Zumpf delivered another record-breaking performance for the Pack on Saturday.
Competing in the women's three-meter diving event, Zumpf captured first place with a score of 237.15 points, breaking the previous meet record of 218.85 points established by Western Colorado's Alex Wallis in 2025.
The performance marked another significant achievement for CSU Pueblo's reinstated diving program, which returned to competition this season for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign.
The ThunderWolves also received several standout performances from senior Olivia Dannhaus, who recorded two championship-final finishes Saturday.
Dannhaus placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.95, finishing just 0.23 seconds behind event winner Demi Blaylock of Western Colorado. She also finished sixth in the 100-yard individual medley, touching the wall in 1:03.88.
Freshman Emily Morgantini joined Dannhaus among the top finishers in the 100-yard breaststroke, taking sixth place with a time of 1:08.95. Morgantini improved nearly two seconds from her preliminary swim and continued to make an impact in her first season with the ThunderWolves.
Sophomore Andy Reyes contributed two championship-final finishes on the final day, placing sixth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:24.14 and seventh in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:00.78.
In the 200-yard individual medley, sophomores Beth Lalley and Aline Gutierrez represented the Pack in the championship final. Lalley finished sixth with a time of 2:18.09, while Gutierrez placed eighth in 2:18.94.
Freshman Lexie Musslewhite also reached the championship final of the 100-yard individual medley, taking seventh place with a time of 1:04.94. She later added a 14th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.34.
Senior Greta Laborde Lagrave recorded a pair of consolation-final performances, finishing 13th in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.25 and 14th in the 100-yard freestyle in 56.79.
Freshman Sarah Fransson added a 13th-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, completing the race in 5:34.78, while Gutierrez also recorded a 15th-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:14.89.
CSU Pueblo also turned in several solid relay performances on Saturday, with its top teams recording eighth-place finishes in both the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay.
The 200-yard medley relay quartet of Laborde Lagrave, Dannhaus, Lalley and Reyes posted a time of 1:54.61, while the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Denn, Musslewhite, Morgantini and Laborde Lagrave finished in 1:45.68.
The Pack's second 200-yard medley relay team of Musslewhite, Morgantini, Gutierrez and Denn placed 11th with a time of 1:57.35, while its third relay squad of Lindsey Tatakis, Saige Toth-Norkett, Rose Guasta and Fransson finished 18th in 2:09.53.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, CSU Pueblo's second team of Lalley, Gutierrez, Dannhaus and Reyes placed 12th in 1:47.95.
In Saturday's women's team standings, CSU Pueblo finished fourth with 216 points, ahead of Iowa Western Community College (200) and Midland University (6). Western Colorado claimed the top spot with 753.5 points, followed by Nebraska Wesleyan (404.5) and host Nebraska Kearney (307).
The weekend was highlighted by the ThunderWolves' two record-breaking performances, with Denn setting the standard in the 400-yard individual medley on Friday and Zumpf following with a new three-meter diving record Saturday.
With contributions throughout the lineup, the Pack closed out its two-day trip to Nebraska with a series of strong individual and relay performances as the ThunderWolves continue their 2026-27 campaign.
