NAU VS UTAH TECH (WOMEN)
- December 12-13, 2025
- St. George, Utah
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: NAU Athletics
ST. GEORGE, Utah (December 12, 2025) – Northern Arizona Swimming & Diving opened its two-day exhibition relay meet against Utah Tech with a strong and composed performance on Friday evening, finishing day one tied at 51–51 after six relay events in St. George.
The Lumberjacks claimed three relay victories on the night, taking first place in the 4×100 IM relay, 300-yard backstroke relay, and 300-yard breaststroke relay, showcasing balance and depth across the relay lineup.
NAU’s first win came in the 4×100 IM relay, as Beezer Geer, Mariana Diaz-Ponce, Kathleen Richter, and Kokona Watanabe touched first in 3:57.78, with another NAU relay close behind at 3:58.40. Momentum continued in the 300-yard backstroke relay, where Gracie Munk, Allie Hayes, and Isahbel Krasht earned the top spot in 2:48.93.
The Lumberjacks added their third relay win in the 300-yard breaststroke relay, as Mariana Diaz-Ponce, Trelise Dance, and Cydnie Perkins combined for a winning time of 3:09.74.
Across the remaining relays, Northern Arizona remained competitive throughout the evening, earning runner-up finishes in the 200-yard freestyle relay, 300-yard butterfly relay, and 500-yard freestyle relay, while multiple relay entries gained valuable race experience in the exhibition format.
Following the opening night, head coach Andy reflected on the performance: “Relays tonight ended in a tie, 51–51. We won the IM, backstroke, and breaststroke relays. Lots of good swims at the end of a five-hour travel day. Looking forward to tomorrow.”
The exhibition meet continues on Saturday, as the Lumberjacks look to build on Friday’s momentum and close out the weekend in St. George.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (December 13, 2025) – Northern Arizona Swimming & Diving closed out its two-day exhibition meet against Utah Tech with a commanding performance on Saturday, pulling away early and continuing to build separation throughout the session.
The Lumberjacks opened the day with a win in the 200-yard medley relay, as the A team of Gracie Munk, Cydnie Perkins, Isahbel Krasht, and Kokona Watanabe touched first in 1:43.04, setting the tone for the final day of competition.
NAU controlled the individual events that followed. Gracie Munk led the way in the backstroke races, winning both the 50-yard backstroke (26.01) and 100-yard backstroke (56.54). Cydnie Perkins added two more victories for the Lumberjacks, sweeping the breaststroke events with wins in the 50-yard breaststroke (29.24) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.45).
In butterfly action, Isahbel Krasht claimed first in the 100-yard butterfly (56.44) and later returned to win the 500-yard freestyle (5:04.00). Kokona Watanabe secured another NAU victory in the 50-yard freestyle (23.69), while Elsa Musselman captured wins in the 100-yard freestyle (51.94) and 200-yard IM (2:06.85).
Distance events also favored the Lumberjacks, as Theodora Sabev took first place in the 1000-yard freestyle, touching in 10:28.73. Northern Arizona closed the meet with authority in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as Watanabe, Evalotta Aabrams, Munk, and Perkins combined for a winning time of 3:28.79 to cap the day.
Northern Arizona Swimming & Diving finished the exhibition series with a 173–89 team victory over Utah Tech. After day one ended in a 51–51 tie during Friday’s relay-only session, the Lumberjacks surged ahead on Saturday behind wins across all strokes, distances, and relays.
Following the conclusion of the meet, head coach Andy Johns reflected on the weekend, saying: “Great day of racing today. Won all but two races. Led by our seniors and sophomores. It was good to race strong after last night and good preparation for the conference championships. Overall really proud of the team’s efforts and attitude as we head into the next phase.”
Courtesy: Utah Tech Athletics
Utah Tech combined to break one school record and picked up three relay race victories during the first session of its two-day home WAC dual meet against Northern Arizona on Friday night at the HPC Pool.
Night one featured six relays races, and thanks to their three victories, the Trailblazers tied the Lumberjacks with a 51-51 final score.
Utah Tech got the night started on a winning note with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay as the team Gabby Henry, Madeleine McGaughy, Reagan Patterson and Nia Turagavou clocked the third-fastest time in school history at 1:33.63.
Henry got off the blocks quickly and posted the program’s fourth-fastest 50 free time with an opening leg 23.41.
The five other relay races the Blazers competed on Friday night were specialty relays, beginning with the 4×100 individual medley relay.
In that race, the team of Mary Sims Cross, Kaiya Lawson, Alyssa Gordon and Coco Riding combined to break the school record in that event by nearly seven full seconds with a third-place 4:00.82.
The Trailblazers also posted runner-up finishes in the next two relays, first in the 300 backstroke, where Makaela Perea, Turagavou and Kate Reichner recorded the second-fastest time in program history with a 2:51.29.
Meanwhile in the 300 breaststroke relay, the team of Cera Mallory, Patterson and Gordon followed suit by swimming the second-fastest time in school history in that event at 3:14.91.
Utah Tech stormed back to win the final two relays of the night, starting with the 300 fly, with the team of McGaughy, Cross and Henry touching the wall just 0.02 seconds ahead of NAU to clinch the win with a time of 2:50.08 (#2 all-time at Utah Tech).
The Blazers then closed out the night with a victory in the 500 free relay as the team of Henry, Patterson, Natalia Zmierczak and Mallory won that race by more than two seconds with a 4:28.33 (#2 all-time at Utah Tech).
The two teams will wrap up the dual meet on Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m. (MT).
Utah Tech broke one school record and collected two event victories on day two of the Trailblazers’ weekend dual vs. Northern Arizona on Saturday at the HPC Pool.
Cera Mallory picked up Utah Tech’s first race win in the first individual event of day, which came in the 200-yard freestyle by over two seconds with a time of 1:51.43. Meanwhile, teammate Alyssa Gordon touched the wall in third place in a season PR time of 1:55.96.
The Trailblazers’ second event win came in record fashion as Gabby Henry sprinted to victory in the 50 butterfly with a school record time of 25.45. Madeleine McGaughy also posted a top-10 program mark with a third-place 26.09 (#4 all-time at Utah Tech), followed closely by Natalia Zmierczak in fourth at 26.32 (#9 all-time at Utah Tech).
Henry also claimed runner-up honors in the 50 free at 23.78, followed by Nia Turagavou in third (23.86) and McGaughy in fourth (24.18). In the 50 backstroke, Turagavou posted a runner-up finish at 26.60, while Makaela Perea took third at 26.78, and Kate Reichner placed third in the 100 fly with a season-best time of 58.07.
Zmierczak would later touch the wall second in the 1,000 free at 11:00.69, as did Mary Sims Cross in both the 100 back (1:04.30) and 200 IM (2:10.36), and Mallory followed suit with a season-best time in the 100 breast (1:04.30).
In the relays, the team of Cross, Jenna Tracy, McGaughy and Henry placed second in the 200 medley relay at 1:44.67.
Then in the final event of the day, the foursome of Mallory, Patterson, Henry and Zmierczak touched the wall in second place at 3:29.75.
Utah Tech kicks off the 2026 calendar year with its final home meet of the season on Jan. 16-17, when the Trailblazers host Idaho for a two-day dual at the HPC Pool.
