Jaek Horner & Evan VanBrocklin Lead Utah Men To 156-142 Victory Over USC In Salt Lake City

USC vs. Utah (Men Only)

• February 17, 2024
• Ute Natatorium
  • Salt Lake City, Utah
• SCY (25 yards)
• PDF Results
• Results also available on Meet Mobile: “Utah vs USC (M)”
• Team Scores
  • Utah 156 – USC 142

The USC men made the trip to Salt Lake City for a dual meet with Utah on Saturday. The meet was an exciting one, with Utah ultimately grabbing the win by 14 points to end the regular season on a high note.

It was a historic win for the Utes, as it represented the first time they’ve topped USC since the 2019-2020 season. Prior to today, Utah only defeated USC during 2 of the last 16 dual meets, so things are looking bright heading into the PAC-12 Championships that begin on March 6th.

The Trojans got off to a great start in the men’s 200 medley relay, where the team of Michal Chmielewski (23.06), Chris O’Grady (24.12), Danny Syrkin (21.26), and Artem Selin (19.06) touched in 1:28.04 to narrowly defeat Utah (1:28.13).

Michal Chmielewski, who led off the victorious relay, competed at the Doha World Championships just a few days ago. There, he was 4th in the 200 fly (LCM) final to narrowly miss the podium by just 0.20. Today, he placed 2nd in the 200 fly and took 5th in the 500 free. His twin brother, Krzysztof, was noticeably absent from today’s meet because he participated in Friday’s 1500 free in Doha.

Saturday’s previously mentioned 200 fly race was a nailbiter, with Utah’s Evan VanBrocklin snagging the win by just 0.02. Chmielewski led through the first 150, but VanBrocklin split 27.23 on the final 50 compared to Chmielewski’s 27.43 to claim victory. VanBrocklin would double up on fly success with a win in the 100, touching in 47.90.

After the narrow defeat in the medley relay, Utah responded quickly with two individual wins. Dylan Becker (9:20.83) dominated the 1000 free, leading a 1-2-3 finish with teammates Nathan Ramey (9:25.30) and Tomas Chocholaty (9:26.17). Just minutes later, Jakub Walter clocked 1:38.02 to win the 200 free, with teammate Nick Chirafisi finishing in 1:39.66 for 2nd place.

Chriafisi later won the 500 free, stopping the clock in 4:30.43. Utah’s Chocholaty (4:32.64) and Becker (4:34.61) placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

USC’s Derek Zhang led a 1-2 finish for the Trojans in the 100 back, winning by just 0.03 over teammate Griffin O’Leary. The pair both posted 48.9 efforts, with Zhang touching in 48.91 to O’Leary’s 48.94. O’Leary (1:48.56) would add another 2nd place finish in the 200 back, where Brandon Miller (1:46.07) of Utah touched the wall 1st.

The sprint freestyles were competitive on the day, with USC going 1-2 in the 50. Mateo Parker hit the wall 1st in 20.25, outpacing teammate Artem Selin (20.30) over the final few yards. Parker and Selin would feature in the 100 free later, placing 2nd and 4th. It was Utah’s David Stachelek who won that one, finishing in 45.00 to Parker’s 45.13.

USC and Utah split the breaststroke events, with Utah’s Jaek Horner winning the 100 in 53.53. USC’s Ben Dillard gave him a push the whole way, finishing just behind in 53.70.

Horner is the 2nd fastest 100 breast swimmer in the nation this year with his 51.32 outing from the Art Adamson Invitational. Only Jake Foster (51.22) from the University of Texas has been quicker, so he looks to be in contention for not only a PAC-12 title but an NCAA podium appearance.

Horner bagged a 3rd place finish in the 200 breast later in the day, with USC going 1-2. Chris O’Grady (1:57.51) led the way over Dillard (1:57.96), the only two to crack the 2-minute mark.

Utah ended the day with a tight win in the 400 free relay. Will Woodall (45.20), Davis Stachelek (44.25), Matt Dedering (43.98), and Jaek Horner (43.98) fired off a swift 2:57.41, enough to overtake USC (2:58.12) by less than a second. USC’s top split came from Mateo Parker, who posted 43.56 on the 2nd leg.

Both USC and Utah will be back in action at the Men’s PAC-12 Swimming and Diving Championships, which are scheduled to begin on March 6th.