Utah Swimming and Diving won 11 of 15 events this evening as both the men’s and women’s teams topped their BYU counterparts in a relay event this evening.
The men’s team got things going with a win in the 150 fly as Ben Scott, Colten Montgomery and Luis Macias timed in at 1:07.32.
The women captured the 150 back thanks to solid swimming from Shayla Archer, Jenna Griffith and Megan Kawaguchi. The men’s team also won their event with a time of 1:08.30 from Paul Ungur, Cole Avery and McKay King.
The Utes also swept the 150 breast events with sisters Mariah and McKenna Gassaway teaming with returnee Stina Colleou. Keanu Interone, Ganem Tebet and Jack Burton captured the event for the men.
In the 400 free, Dorien Butter, Jordan Anderson, Sarah Lott and Gillian St. John were victorious in a time of 3:29.88
Utah dominated the 500 free with Claire Jackson, Butter, Anderson and Lott winning for the women and Montgomery, Liam O’Haimhirgin, Austin Phillips and Brendan Nguyen capturing the win for the men.
The Utes also won the mixed 200 relay as Ungur and Jack Burton teamed with Darby Wayner and St. John to bring home the victory.
The final to victories of the night occurred in the 400 IM relay. Anderson, Sydney Bull, Brianna Francis and Wayner won for the women while Ethan Dillard, Cole Avery, Jeremy Young and Nguyen captured it for the men.
This meet will not count towards the annual Deseret Dual meet, which will take place at Ute Natatorium on Sat., Jan. 21, 2017. That meet will also be Senior Day for the Utah student-athletes.
The men take a break from competition while the women return to the pool next weekend, Oct. 1, for the home opener vs. Oregon State.
Utah won 11 of the 15 swimming events against BYU on Thursday evening in non-scoring relays.
“It was just a fun and exciting event to participate in”, said BYU head coach John Brooks. “Some of the events we did really well in and some of the events we were a little shallow. This relay event gives our team a little bit of reality check and motivates us to continue working harder”.
Taking first in the 4x100 freestyle relay, the BYU men’s team recorded a time of 3:02.74. This time is the best recorded thus far for a team in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. This was the only event in the relays that will be contested in regular season meets.
To add to the excitement, Payton Sorenson, a junior at BYU, recorded one of his best times in the opening 50-yard leg of the men’s 500-yard freestyle relay with a time of 19.99.
Members of the BYU diving team not only participated in synchronized diving, but they also put together a mixed 200-yard relay team. Both BYU diving teams took first and second in that relay.
A coed relay ended the evening, with an exciting finish in the mixed 200-yard free. Sorenson created a small lead in the opening leg. Utah took the lead, in the middle of that event. Coming down to the last second, Cougar David Harlan pulled ahead of Utah to claim the final win of the night. The relay team clocked a 1:28.70 time.
The BYU women’s team will take on the Utes again in a double dual with Oregon State next Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Ute Natatorium. The relay and next Friday’s meet are not part of the BYU/Utah Deseret Duel, but the upcoming January dual does count in those standings.
