Cowboy Duo Metzler, Kogler Win 500 Free and 200 IM

PHARR, Texas (Feb. 26, 2026) – Two Cowboys punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships and won individual Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles in the 500-yard Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley, while another took third in the 50-yard Freestyle and the 200-yard Freestyle Relay team took second, on Thursday.

“The 'B' final of the 500 Free was just a gutsy race,” said head coach Dave Denniston. “Pannell put everything into the finish, Ozenne held on when we thought we were going to lose him and Derek [Long] is like a silent assassin.”

He added, “That was a great day. The guys did a phenomenal job.”

500-YARD FREESTYLE

Kicking off the individual swimming events at the MPSF championships, senior Alex Metzler and sophomore Isaac Lee led the Cowboys in the “A” Final of the 500-yard Freestyle. Metzler booked his ticket to the NCAA Championships, finishing first with a time of 4:16.20 and earning 20 points for the Pokes. He also demolished the school record by over 3 seconds. Lee finished in sixth with a time of 4:25.61, tacking on an additional 13 team points.

A trio of Cowboys, juniors Adam Pannell, Derek Long and senior Caleb Ozenne, also swam in the 500 Free “B” Final. Pannell finished second and logged a 4:27.90, coming in 10th overall. Long took fourth with a time of 4:28.50, finishing 12th overall. Ozenne finished just behind Long in fifth, going 4:28.60 to take 13th overall.

200-YARD IM

Freshman Jackson Kogler was the lone Cowboy to race in the “A” Final of the 200-yard IM, where he took first, going 1:43.70. Kogler earned 20 team points off his school record-breaking swim.

In the “B” Final, junior Cameron Knox and senior Collin Davis went three and four, respectively, with times of 1:48.39 and 1:48.87. Knox and Davis finished in 11th and 12th overall.

200-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY

The Cowboy 200-yard Freestyle Relay of freshman Jack Boysen, junior Simon Casey, freshman Edward Rhoe and sophomore Luke O’Connor swam a time of 1:17.99 to earn themselves a second-place finish. The Pokes were just .10 off tying the school record, which these four currently hold at 1:17.89, but still added 34 team points for Wyoming.

50-YARD FREESTYLE

Freshmen Jack Boysen, Edward Rhoe and sophomore Luke O’Connor represented the Cowboys in the “A” Final. Boysen finished in third, logging a school record-breaking time of 19.40. Rhoe came in fifth with a time of 19.78 while O’Connor took seventh off a time of 19.92. The trio earned a combined 42 team points for the Pokes.

In the “B” Final, junior Simon Casey swam a 20.24 to take fourth in the heat and 12th overall. Sophomore Gray Sisco swam a 20.60 in the “C” Final, taking part in a three-way tie for first in the heat and 17th overall.

1-METER DIVING

“Gotta shoutout Bruno for finally getting his zone cut in the finals,” said head diving coach Mark Murdock. He would score a total of 307.35 points to meet the NCAA standard.

Sophomore Kael Kropf led the Cowboys once again in the championship final, finishing in eighth with 281.90 points in the 1-Meter. Kropf contributed 11 points for the Pokes.

Junior Bruno Grau, sophomore Jonah Mann and freshman Connor Liddle all competed in the consolation final. Grau finished first with a score of 307.35, finishing in ninth overall. Mann placed third in off a score of 284.95, taking 11th overall. Liddle placed sixth with a score of 240.15, coming in 14th overall.

UP NEXT

Day three of the MPSF Championships will continue tomorrow with the swimming prelims at 9 a.m. MT and 1-Meter at 9:30 a.m. MT. Finals action for both swimming and diving will begin at 5 p.m. MT.

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