A pair of Pac-12 men’s programs have picked up verbals from outsanding butterfliers (among other things), as Renny Richmond will head to Arizona, and Longyuan Gutierrez will swim for the Cal Golden Bears.
Richmond from the Lahaina Swim Club is secretly one of the true superstars in this class. At last December’s Hawaiian Swimming Championship meet, Richmond swam a 47.09: one of the fastest we’ve ever seen from a high schooler. Still, in relative isolation in Hawaii, we don’t get to see him a ton on the regular swimming circuit. At Junior Nationals in 2011, though, he did swim a blazing 53.88 in long course, which shows that he’s got national-level potential too.
He swims a decent 200 fly (1:50.36), but will more likely end up as a sprint freestyler to fill out his event lineup. He’s got bests of 20.45, 45.12, and 1:37.95 in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles. He’ll be a fitting replacement for the Wildcats’ Giles Smith, who fills just that role for the team right now.
Dave Durden and the Cal men have also found themselves a star from off-the-beaten-path. Longyuan Gutierrez swims for Cottonwood Heights Aquatics in Utah, and is sort of a flip of Richmond: he’s got butterfly bests of 48.63 in the 100, and a killer 1:46.99 in the 200. Though Durden is often regarded to as a “sprint coach,” keep in mind that he returns the champion and runner-up in the 200 fly from last year’s NCAA meet (Will Hamilton andTom Shields).
Gutierrez also brings a lot to the table as a sprint freestyler, with bests of 21.20 and 45.31 in the 50 and 100 frees, respectively. He’s off to a great start early in this yard’s season, having been a 46.2 in the 100 yard free already.
Long…Its been amazing to watch you over the last 8 years grow into such an amazing guy and swimmer. We are going to miss you, but look forward to following you in your years at Cal. Utah swim meets will not be the same without you. It will be like watching golf without Tiger Woods LOL. Thank you for being an inspiration to swimmers at Cottonwood Hieghts Aquatics and Brighton Bengals and swimmers all over Utah. Love ya
Good luck Ren! It has been an honor to watch your swim career blossom!
So excited for you Long! Your “brothers” are going to miss you! Always so much fun watching you swim. Hopefully I can come and watch a meet with coach Todd. Your other family is already cheering you on!
Go Renny! We’ll be watching your success as a Wildcat! Remeber Steven’s sister Kate? She’s a senior at Arizona. You’ve chosen an awesome school!
I’m so proud of you Renny!!!!
Cal is going to have a great addition with Gutierrez and Franklin.
Those two are a good addition or is there a third you’re referring to?
Long is one of the best swimmers in Utah history. Bengal swimming and CHAT will miss him dearly. Congrats Long
GOOD JOB I WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH! HOPE YOU HAVE FUN AT YOUR NEW SCHOOL!!!!! FROM MARIANNE. THE BEST COUSIN EVER.