Dec. 12, 2007

LARAMIE, Wyo. - University of Wyoming head swimming coach Tom Johnson and diving coach Ben Herdt announced today that eight future Cowboys and Cowgirls have signed National Letters of Intent to attend UW beginning next fall.

The 2008-09 signing class features three High School All-Americans, an Oregon state record holder and a three-time Wyoming State Champion diver.

The Cowboys have signed Brandon Fischer of Livermore, Calif. and Tyler Kybartas of Tucson, Ariz. The Cowgirls added Hillary Bohler of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Shelby Bull of Salt Lake City, Utah, Kelsey Conci of Craig, Colo., Makenzie Hewson of Estes Park, Colo., Tiffany Izatt of Gillette, Wyo. and Caroline Wells of Corvallis, Ore.

Following is a look at the 2008-09 Wyoming swimming signing class:

Brandon Fischer

Brandon Fischer, Breaststroke and IM, Livermore, Calif. (Granada High School)
Brandon Fischer, a native of Livermore, Calif., swims with the Pleasanton Seahawks club team and for Granada High School. Brandon is a three-time High School All-American in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM. He is also a USA Swimming Senior National Qualifier in the 100 and the 200 breaststroke. At the recent USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., he placed 16th in the 200 breaststroke and 18th in the 100 breaststroke. Brandon has also been on the Granada High School Principal's Honor Roll and has been a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.

"Brandon is a tremendous talent who is just off of qualifying for the US Olympic Team Trials that will be held this summer," said Johnson. "I was very impressed with his stroke technique and his strength when I saw him swim at the Senior National Championships this summer. Two things that also impressed me about Brandon were his tremendous desire to achieve greatness and what an exceptional young man he is. Brandon is also an outstanding artist and I am immensely impressed with his art work."

Tyler Kybartas

Tyler Kybartas, Backstroke, Butterfly and Freestyle, Tuscon, Ariz. (Sabino High School)
Tyler Kybartas, a Tucson, Ariz. native, comes to Wyoming by way of Sabino High School and Ford Aquatics. He recently competed in the Arizona High School State Championships where he won both the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. He swam both events in automatic All-America time. He is a fairly versatile swimmer, as he can also swim the 200 backstroke and the middle distance freestyle events. Kybartas is an exceptional student and was a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American.

"We are very pleased to have signed Tyler. He is a tremendous young man who is very talented and has had outstanding coaching. He will walk in the door and be able to make an immediate impact in the backstroke events," said Johnson.

Shelby Bull, Freestyle, Salt Lake City, Utah (East High School)
Shelby Bull of Salt Lake City, Utah, comes to the Wyoming swimming program from East High School and Steiner Youth Aquatic Club. She helped lead East High to a second place finish at the 2007 Utah High School State Championships. She is a four-time Utah State Champion as she won the 100 freestyle and the 200 freestyle in 2006 and the 50 and 100 freestyles in 2007. She helped her 400 freestyle relay team break the Utah state record in All-America time in 2007. Bull has also excelled in the classroom and was on East High School's Dean List the past four years.

"Shelby is a tremendous talent who will make a strong impact in our sprint and middle distance freestyle events," Johnson said. "Most importantly she can make an immediate impact on all of our relays. Shelby is a very athletic swimmer and has a great desire to improve. She has demonstrated that she is a great racer and we look forward to having her at UW next year."

Kelsey Conci, Sprint Freestyle and Backstroke, Craig, Colo. (Moffat High School)
Kelsey Conci, a Craig, Colo. product, comes to Wyoming after a distinguished high school career at Moffat County High School. At the 2007 Colorado 4A State High School Championships, Conci placed second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke. She has also excelled in the classroom and has been on Moffat High School's Honor Roll. Conci will be a third generation student at the University of Wyoming as her grandfather, mother, aunts and uncles attended UW. Two of her sisters are currently attending UW.

"I have known Kelsey for some time as she attended our camp over the last few summers. She has a ton of totally untapped talent. She drives 45 minutes one way to swim in an outdoor hot spring in Steamboat Springs during the week until her high school season begins. What Kelsey has been able to accomplish is amazing. She will add depth to our sprint events, our backstroke and will also be a tremendous asset to our relays," said Johnson.

Makenzie Hewson

Makenzie Hewson, Freestyle and Backstroke, Estes Park, Colo. (Estes Park High School)
A native of Estes Park, Colo., Hewson helped lead Estes Park High School to a third place finish at the 2007 Colorado 4A State Swimming and Diving Championships. At those championships, she placed fourth in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle. Hewson is also very strong in the 200 freestyle, an event which she holds the EPHS school record, and in the 100 backstroke. Last year, she received recognition as the Denver Post/9 News Student Athlete of the Week. Hewson is also a very good student and is a member of the National Honor Society.

"I have known Kenzie since she was a little girl from my club coaching days," said Johnson. "Her father, Sam Hewson, has been her coach since she started swimming and has done a tremendous job developing her talents. Kenzie will contribute immediately to our sprint and middle distance freestyle events. She should also add some depth to our backstroke events and can also make a big impact on our relays as well."

Caroline Wells, Freestyle, IM and Backstroke, Corvallis, Ore. (Crescent Valley High School) Caroline Wells comes to UW after a stellar high school career at Crescent Valley High School as well as with the Corvallis Aquatic Team. She will join with her former teammate Sean Sweet, who is currently a freshman for the Cowboys, at the University of Wyoming. Wells is the Oregon 5A state record holder in the 100 backstroke and with her teammates in the 400 freestyle relay. She is a Junior National Qualifier in the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 IM and the 400 IM. She recently swam at the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships in Atlanta. Wells is an outstanding student and is a member of the National Honor Society, is a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and an NISCA Academic All-American.

"Caroline is an extremely talented, versatile swimmer and will help us in so many areas," said Johnson. "She can do middle distance and sprint freestyle, both IM's, as well as backstroke. She can also make an immediate impact on many of our relays. Not only is she a very talented swimmer, she is very bright and is a hard worker. She has been well coached as a member of the Corvallis Aquatic Team and the Curl Burke Swim Club as an age group swimmer."

Following is a look at the 2008-09 Wyoming diving signing class:

Hillary Bohler, Diving, Thunder Bay, Ontario (Lakehead University)
Hillary Bohler transfers to Wyoming from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She dives for Thunder Bay Dive Club in Thunder Bay, Ontario with coach Mike Lang. That is the same diving club that produced Saara Haapanen, a 2007 Mountain West Conference Champion for the Cowgirls. Bohler only started diving three years ago but has picked it up very quickly, and has competed at the Junior National level in Canada. Bohler is also an accomplished gymnast. She is currently attending Lakehead University on an academic scholarship to study nursing. Bohler will have four years of eligibility at Wyoming.

Tiffany Izatt, Diving, Gillette, Wyo. (Campbell County High School)
Tiffany Izatt, a Gillette, Wyo. native, comes to UW from Campbell County High School where she was coached by former Cowboy diving letterman Adam Miller. She is one of the top diving prospects to ever come out of the state of Wyoming. She was a three-time Wyoming State Champion. She is also a great student and was a member of the CCHS Honor Roll. In addition to UW, Izatt was also recruited by Brigham Young and Colorado State.

"This is a tremendous signing class for Cowgirl diving," said Herdt. "These two young women are the future of this program and the future is very bright. I am very excited to work with both of these women. They will be able to contribute immediately and I look for them to improve greatly during their time at Wyoming.