Hostile territory brought out the best from the Cougars on the swim and dive teams as the men and women split wins with the University of Utah Feb. 7-8, coming away with their first win in Salt Lake City in 14 years.
The men's team maintained its lead throughout the weekend, winning 168-132. This also marks its first consecutive win over Utah since the 2011-2012 seasons.
Utah's women's team defeated BYU 169-131.
Coach Tamber McAllister saw several swimmers who stepped up and dug deep over the weekend.
"I think [this weekend] set the tone really well," said McAllister. "We had a lot of freshman and lower classmen step up and win or get second place finishes, and I think they need to keep that momentum rolling."
Freshman Sarah Eliason was one such athlete, winning the 100 fly with a 54.73 to claim her seventh win of the season.
Three Cougars notched new entries in the BYU record books at the dual meet.
WOW 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VMbYBFPQPO
— BYU Swim and Dive (@BYUSwim_Dive) February 8, 2025
Remember when Darwin Anderson broke his personal record in the 1000 free earlier this season? Twice?
Apparently, that wasn't enough for him.
Anderson chopped five seconds off his previous best at the Denver meet to win with a 9:11.91—No. 2 all-time at BYU. His time at his first meet this season was 9:29.13, an improvement of 17 seconds over that stretch.
"I hadn't actually heard that," said Anderson. "That's wild."
Anderson expects to swim the mile at the Big 12 Conference Championships Feb. 25-March 1, an event he hasn't competed in since November.
Vitoria Schreiber had impressive performances of her own in the 1000 free and 500 free, posting a new personal record in the 1000 free with a 10:14.89 that notched her second place in the race and No. 7 all-time at BYU.
In the 500 free, Schreiber trailed Utah's Chloe Thompson by a quarter of a second before overtaking her in the last lap to finish in front with a 4:57.33.
HE DID THATâť• pic.twitter.com/AXwBu00D4a
— BYU Swim and Dive (@BYUSwim_Dive) February 8, 2025
Tanner Nelson had an incredible weekend of his own, notching his twelfth and thirteenth wins of the season in the 500 free and the 200 IM. His 1:46.69 in the 200 IM surpassed current assistant coach Hayden Palmer's No. 10 placement on the all-time BYU record book.
Mackenzie Miller Lung added wins to her breakout season in the 100 and 200 breast, posting times of 1:00.62 and 2:13.02. She heads to the Big 12 Championships with 14 wins this year.
Miller Lung was also part of the squad that won the women's 200 medley relay with Emma Marusakova, Sarah Eliason, and Halli Williams to open the meet.
Jordan Tiffany made a triumphant return from injury with strong showings in the 100 back and 100 fly with times of 46.85 and 47.94. The last time he swam for BYU was in October, six meets ago.
Tiffany was recognized last season as an All-America honorable mention, the first to receive such a recognition at BYU in years.
BYU's first win on Saturday came off another great showing from Nathaniel Eliason, notching his seventh win of the season in the 100 free. The freshman has received several honors this season, including three Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards. He also received call to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Mexico.
The men's and women's dive teams showed promise Saturday. Chase Hindmarsh led the men's squad, placing third with a score of 301.45. Marti Llop finished in the top 5 with a 290.10. Alexia Jackson Hansen led BYU's women with a 260.95 that earned her fourth place with Brooklyn Larson Clouse taking fifth with a 256.65.
"I think the energy here is great," said head diving coach Tyce Routson about the weekend. "We need to control our energy a little bit more and get consistent, and that'll happen at [the Big 12 Championships] too."
BYU's next stop is the Big 12 Championships on Feb. 25 in Federal Way, Washington. The message to prepare and compete for each other was loud and clear after the meet.
"When you do things for your team, you're a lot stronger than you think you are," coach McAllister said. "You do things that you think individually might have felt impossible, but you step it up for your team and you can do it."