UTAH VS BYU
- Saturday, January 28, 2023
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Diving Recap
- Team Scores
- Women: Utah 226, BYU 74
- Men: Utah 163, BYU 137
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY – Competing in their final home meet of the 2022-23 season, the University of Utah swimming and diving team closed out the home slate in style by dropping the BYU Cougars on Saturday, cruising to a 226-74 final on the women’s side and pulling out a 163-137 triumph in the men’s competition, which took place at the Ute Natatorium.
“It feels really good [to get this win],” said head coach Jonas Persson. “On the women’s side, we had a lot of strong races. The girls stepped up really well and had some great momentum. The men’s side was a lot tougher. It was one race at a time, one event at a time. We had some bad luck, we had some good luck and, in the end, we had more luck and better swims than they did.”
In the Pool
The Utah women ran away from the Cougars and hid and in a meet with 16 women’s events, the Utes occupied each of the top three spots in seven of them.
Eight different Utah swimmers collected at least one victory and Summer Stanfield and Norah Hay made multiple trips to the winner’s circle. Stanfield’s first success came in the 200 free, which she finished in 1:52.03, then she topped the field in the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.12 before winning the 200 individual medley in 2:03.74. Stanfield also started the day by teaming up with Hay, Hilja Schimmel and Reagan Cathcart to put up the fastest time in the women’s 400 medley relay.
Hay’s first individual victory came in the 100 backstroke, where she clocked in at 55.99. Soon after, she was back in the pool to collect first place in the 200 back in 1:59.40. The list of Utah victors on the women’s side also included Marlene Sandberg, who bested her competition in the 1650 free to finish in 17:30.11, Alyssa Sorensen, with a time of 1:03.02 in the 100 breaststroke, Sadie Edwards, who touched in 2:07.41 in the 200 fly, Cathcart, who secured the 50 free in 23.69, Maddie Woznick, who swam into first in the 100 free in 52.43 and Charity Pittard, who won the 200 breast in 2:17.89. Woznick, Cathcart, Katie Hale and Erin Palmer also teamed up to come out on top in the women’s 200 free relay.
In the men’s events, Evan VanBrocklin made his presence felt with a trio of triumphs, the first one in the 200 fly, which he finished in 1:48.65. The freshman from Salt Lake City was back atop the podium thanks to a mark of 4:33.65 in the 500 free and his day concluded when he snagged the 200 IM in 1:51.21.
The squad’s first individual win came courtesy of Marko Kovacic and his time of 1:38.82 in the 200 free, followed by Andrei Ungur’s first place effort of 48.95 in the 100 back. Finn O’Haimhirgin outswam the field in the 100 free in 45.94 and Jaek Horner paced the field in the 200 breast, clocking in at 2:03.49. The quartet of Ungur, Horner, Kovacic and O’Haimhirgin captured the 400 medley relay and Ungur, O’Haimhirgin, Horner and JP Hynes put the day’s final points on the board with a first-place effort in the 200 free relay.
On the Boards
After starting the meet with first place finishes by Holly Waxman and Elias Petersen on Friday, the Utah divers picked up where they left off and it started with the women’s 1m. Once again, it was Waxman who emerged victorious, piling up 309.45 points for her second win in as many days. That score also goes down as her highest ever and the second-best in Utah history.
Kathryn Grant did outstanding work in the 1m as well, posting a mark of 283.05, a personal-best that puts her 10th in the program record book and surpassed the NCAA Championship qualifying standard. Lexi Mills joined Waxman and Grant in reaching the NCAA benchmark and took third in the competition with 270.75 points.
The men’s 3m came down to the very last dive and it was Luke McDivitt who came through in the clutch to come out on top. His 386.75 was the highest by a Ute in the 3m so far in 2022-23 and put him 14 points clear of second place. In third was Ben Smyth with 368.50 points, a performance good enough to put him seventh in that event all-time and Elias Petersen improved on his personal-best score with 368.50 points. The fourth Ute to surpass the NCAA qualifying mark in the 3m was Jenner Pennock at 336.40.
“That was amazing,” said diving coach Richard Marschner. “That was one of the most exciting meets I’ve been part of. It’s so much fun when you’ve got all the swimmers here and the stands are packed and you’re seeing person after person from Utah and BYU hit dive after dive. Nobody backed down and to have a person like Luke come through in such a big way is why you coach. You love to see that happen to a person like Luke.”
Looking Ahead
February for Utah’s divers begins with the Air Force Diving Invitational on Feb. 2-4, while the squad’s male swimmers will set their sights on a Feb. 10 trip to USC.
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For fans of the Utah men’s/women’s swimming and diving programs, follow the Utes on Twitter (@UTAHswimdive), Instagram (@utahswimdive) and Facebook (@UtahUtesSwimDive).
Courtesy: BYU Athletics
PROVO, Utah — In a meet consisting of 34 total events over the weekend, both the men and women swim and dive teams fell to the Utes in this dual matchup to close out conference play.
This weekend’s loss marked the first of the season for the men’s team, losing 163-137. For the women, they moved to 2-3 in dual matches this year, scoring 74 points to Utah’s 226.
Alexia Jackson of the women’s dive team finished with the highest score of the team for the second day in a row, posting a 269.85 in the 1 meter dive. For the men, Mickey Strauss led the way again, narrowly finishing in second place with a 372.10 behind Luke McDivitt’s 386.75 for Utah in the 3 meter dive.
Individually, a number of solid performances were turned in by the Cougar swimmers Saturday morning at the Ute Natatorium. Darwin Anderson helped get BYU on track in the 1650-yard freestyle, swimming a 16:02.99 for a first place finish. Abe Barragan also competed hard for the men in the 200-yard freestyle, posting a 1:40.94 to narrowly place second for the event.
Diego Camacho had a solid day as well for the men, coming in second in the 100-yard backstroke with a 49.90, and coming back in the 200-yard backstroke to win the event, swimming a 1:49.90.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, the Cougars nearly went 1-2-3, as Evan VanderSluis (56.11), William Bonnett (56.14) and Emerson Edwards (57.16) finished first, second and fourth for the event. VanderSluis also went on to finish with a 2:05.09 in the 200-yard breaststroke for a third place finish. Max Cannon placed second in the event with a 2:04.81.
The 100-yard butterfly featured strong performances from Javier Nicolas, Brad Prolo and Tony Puertas. Nicolas won the event outright with a 47.65, while Prolo (49.40) and Puertas (50.50) went on to place second and fourth. The 200-yard butterfly also so Prolo finish second for the event, swimming a 1:50.35, while Puertas went on to finish third with a 1:53.42.
Brigham Harrison and Nicolas lifted the Cougars to a victory in the 50-yard freestyle as well. Harrison placed first with a 20.72, while Nicolas narrowly finished in second with a 20.82.
For the women’s swim team, the highlight of the events came in the 500-yard freestyle, as Regan Geldmacher (5:04.50), Megan Bergstrom (5:05.34) and Victoria Schreiber (5:06.16) went 1-2-3 for the Cougars. Geldmacher also went on to finish fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle event, swimming a 17:41.55.
Brynn Sproul helped contribute to the Cougars’ point tally in the 200-yard freestyle with a third place finish, swimming a 1:55.01. Emma Marusakova followed up Sproul’s performance with a 57.01 in the 100-yard backstroke.
The 200-yard butterfly saw Daniela Flores-Bautista and Elle Decker finish second and third in the event, with Flores-Bautista swimming a 2:07.65 and Decker posting a 2:08.26. Colette Masino also got in on the action in the 100-yard butterfly, as her 58.23 was good for third place in the event.
The women closed out the event with a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, with a team Lily Flint, Julia Bartell, Marusakova and Halli Williams posting a 1:36.54.
“The athletes battled hard this weekend,” said swim coach Shari Skabelund. “We had several close races and lots of positives as the men’s and women’s teams competed. We’re grateful for the opportunity we have to keep working and get better.”
The divers will now turn their attention to the Diving Air Force Invite, Feb. 3 and 4, while the swimmers will look to prepare for the MPSF Championships, Feb. 15-18. More information regarding the events will be provided as they near.
