A BYU swim athlete competes in a race Jan. 24, 2015. The Cougar men's swim and dive team repeated as MPSF champions Feb. 21. (Bryan Pearson)
The BYU men's swim and dive teams took first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship Saturday, while the women's team finished fourth.
Rainer Ng, Michael King, McKay King and Jake Taylor took third place in the meet and set a new BYU record in the men's 200-yard medley relay on the first day of the championships.
“Our guys breaking that school record in the 200 medley relay is awesome,” BYU head swim coach John Brooks said. “It was a solid start and we are right where we want to be going forward.”
BYU finished in second place behind UC Santa Barbara after the second day of competition. Rafael Alfaro won the men’s 200-yard individual medley with Hayden Palmer coming in second. True freshman Luis Ventura came in second in the men’s 500-yard freestyle and junior captain Jake Taylor finished second in men’s 50-yard freestyle
'We had a lot of our best times (Thursday),” Brooks said. 'The guys have a battle on our hands against Santa Barbara, and we’re ready for the last two days.”
Kevin Dreesen finished in second place for the second night in a row, recording a 375.00 in the men's three-meter dive. Ali Tippetts finished third in the women's three-meter dive with a 282.45 score.
“We didn’t have our best day (Thursday),” BYU head diving coach Keith Russell said. “I expect us to perform better on the platform, and I look forward to seeing how our athletes respond.”
BYU broke through on the third day of competition when it broke three separate school records. Junior captain Jake Taylor set a new school record in the men’s 100-yard backstroke, finishing first with a time of 45.53. The time set a new MPSF Championship meet record and stands as the second fastest 100 back–time in the country this season.
Taylor, Levi Jensen, Ng and King finished first in the men's 400-yard medley relay team with a time of 3:12.16, also a new school record. Jensen finished fourth in the men’s 100-yard breast but was still fast enough to set a new school record as well.
The Cougars were able to hold on to their lead on the final day of competition, beating out the second-place team by 56 points. Taylor took first in the men's 200-yard backstroke and set a new MPSF Championship meet record with a time of 1:41.15.
Brooks and Russell were both named 'Coaches of the Meet,' and Taylor won the men’s 'Swimmer of the Meet' award.
“The guys pulled off a nice win, and our girls improved each day,' Brooks said. 'Our men did what they needed to do, and it feels really good to win the conference again.”
Haley Bertoldo took first in the the women’s 200-yard backstroke, and Ciera Marsh Keller finished third.
The Cougars have won the MPSF Championship two years in a row now.