As “Let’s go Cougars” chants rained down at the Richards Building for the BYU swim and dive team, there was much to celebrate in this weekend’s Tri-meet tournament.
To begin with, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe attended the meet to honor the men’s team for their 2023 MPSF conference championship. The crowd got a chance to applaud the victory, as the team was awarded their rings.
Continuing its championship form, the men’s swim and dive team put up 921 points to defeat Colorado Mesa by just under 300 points and Air Force by over 500. Over the course of the Friday evening and Saturday morning meets, the Cougars won 17 out of the 20 events.
Abraham Barragan led the charge for BYU with 53 points with Darwin Anderson right behind at 52 points. Brad Prolo chipped in 50 more, while Jordan Tiffany and Joshua Reed added 48 and 44, respectively, to wrap up the top-five for BYU.
A victory of note was Tiffany posting a personal best and Richards Building pool record for the 200 Individual Medley at 1:45.56.
Tiffany himself set the previous record while swimming for Lone Peak High School in 2019 at 1:48.75, marking a record advancement of over 3 seconds.
In addition to the Individual Medley, Tiffany won the 100 fly and 100 back. Five Cougars finished in the top five of the 100 fly with Prolo, Tony Puertas, Carson Hamblin, and Tanner Edwards coming in the next four spots after Tiffany.
The men also pulled a relay sweep, winning the 200 medley and the 400 free relays. Prolo, Tiffany, Tanner Edwards, and Luigi Riva combined for 1:30.12 in the 200 medley.
Prolo won the 100 breast and Darwin Anderson the 1650 free. Additionally, Reed won the 100 free, and Fletcher Madsen won the 50 free.
The team particularly succeeded in the 200 fly and 200 breast with Cougars taking the top four spots in each. Tony Puertas took home the 200 fly with Emerson Edwards beating out others for the 200 breast. Barragan won the 500 free.
Not to be overshadowed, the BYU women's team fueled celebrations by defeating Air Force and Colorado Mesa by 187 and 172 points, respectively. The Cougars put up 766 points over the two days of competition.
Emma Marusakova led the meet with 61 points with Regan Geldmacher throwing in 44. Next came Victoria Schreiber and Addison Richards with 37 points followed by 3 Cougars scoring 32 points: Abril Arias, Mackenzie Lung, and Alexia Jackson.
Marusakova notably won three events by winning the 200 Individual Medley, 200 back, and the 100 fly. Geldmacher won the 200 free with a time of 1:52.76, and Lung won the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.96
In the 1 meter dive Jackson won with a score of 284.05, followed by Brooklyn Larson at 266.55. Impressively, it was all Cougars who filled out the top five with Sophia DeBergh, Hailey Johnson and Aubryn Ordyna finishing 3rd through 5th.
Tatum Cooley, Julia Bartell, Lily Flint and Hali Williams finished off strong with a solid showing of 3:28.03 to win the 400 free relay.
“We didn’t know what we were going to get from our swimmers after two hard weeks of training, but they stepped it up and swam well,” BYU head swimming coach Shari Skabelund said.
BYU will attempt to keep the celebrations coming as it meets Utah Feb. 9 and 10 in the Richards Building.