Juniors Daniel McArthur and Darby Wayner won three individual events apiece as Utah topped BYU in the ‘Deseret First Duals’ rivalry matchup.
On the men’s side, McArthur swept the backstrokes for Utah, going 48.77 and 1:48.81. He also took home the 200 IM in 1:51.65. Fellow junior Wayner won three times on the women’s side, sweeping the breaststrokes in 1:03.31 and 2:20.83, plus adding the 200 IM in 2:06.72.
BYU was tough in the sprints, sweeping the 50 and 100 frees in both the men’s and women’s meets. Senior Payton Sorenson was the top sprinter for the men, taking the 50 in 20.57 and the 100 in 45.36. Gwen Gustafson was 23.54 and 51.44 to win the events for the women.
Both sprinters powered a relay win for BYU, too. Sorenson anchored the medley relay in a blistering 19.42, running down Utah to give BYU an early points lead. The relay team was 1:30.12. At the end of the meet, Gustafson split 50.98 on the women’s 400 free relay as BYU beat Utah 3:26.81-3:26.87.
Press release courtesy of Utah:
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah swimming and diving teams swept BYU in their annual Deseret First Duels this afternoon. The men honored their seniors with a 181-119 triumph while the women were also victorious, 197-103.
“I am really proud of our seniors for all they accomplished today and during their careers,” head coach Joe Dykstra said. “The divers had some great performances this weekend with a bunch of new personal bests. We were pretty rough around the edges in the pool and looked like a team in the midst of some heavy training. To come out with big wins over a much improved BYU squad was great.”
It was a fitting start as senior Daniel McArthur began the day leading off the 200 medley relay. He went on to win the 100 back in 48.77, the 200 back in 1:48.81 and the 200 IM in 1:51.65.
Classmate Chris Taber took the 200 fly in 1:52.25 and fellow senior Austin Phillips won the 200 free (1:40.77). He then swam the anchor leg of the winning 400 free relay, teaming with Felix Chiun, Liam O’Haimhirgin and David Fridlander to capture the final event of the day in 3:00.32.
Nick Becker won a pair of events for Utah, claiming the top spot in the 500 free (4:38.52) and the 1000 free (9:35.28). Harrison Wayner was the best performer in the 200 breast with a time of 2:04.56 and Tony Chen picked up where he left off last night, winning the three meter dive with a score of 367.58
Wayner’s sister, Darby, won three events for the women’s team, taking the 100 breast in 1:03.31, the 200 breast in 2:20.83 and the 200 IM in 2:06.72. She was not the only multi-event winner on the day as Aryanna Fernandes, Sarah Lott and Sara McClendon made significant impacts for the Utes.
McClendon exceled in her distance events, winning the 1000 free in 10:18.06 and 500 free in 5:03.15. Lott won the 100 back in 54.93 and 200 back in 2:00.16 and Fernandes topped the 200 fly in 2:02.46 and then returned to take the 100 fly in 54.94.
Lott and Fernandes joined Ianire Casarin and Gillian St. John to win the 400 free relay in 3:26.87 and Fernandes teamed with St. John, Emma Lawless and Mariah Gassaway to cruise to a win in the 200 medley (1:42.38).
After a pair of wins last night, Casarin picked up another victory today, rolling in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.28. Meanwhile on the boards, Emma Ruchala added to her win in the three meter on Friday with success in the 1 meter today (275.78).
The diving teams head to Colorado Springs next weekend for the Air Force Invitational while the women’s swimmers hold their senior day ceremonies on Feb. 9 vs. Oregon State. The men’s swimmers have one last event before the Pac-12 Championships, Feb. 23 at USC.
Press release courtesy of BYU:
SALT LAKE CITY – Senior Payton Sorenson and freshman Gwen Gustafson stood out during the Deseret First Duel Saturday afternoon at the Ute Natatorium despite falling to Utah.
“We fought hard and swam better than we previously have at this meet and at this time of the year,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “Despite coming up short, I wouldn’t want to coach a better group of men and women.”
Sorenson and Gustafson dominated in the freestyle events. Sorenson took the win for the men in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle with times of 20.57 and 45.36, respectively. Gustafson led the women, posting times of 23.54 in the 50-yard freestyle and 51.44 in the 100-yard freestyle.
The relays kicked off the meet as the men took the win in the 200-yard medley relay with a team of Kunmi Ogunfeibo, Josue Dominguez, Javier Matta and Sorenson. Teammates Brynn Sproul, Mariah Lindsay, Ellie Thornbrue Brinton and Gustafson also placed high in the 200-yard medley relay, taking second for the women.
Cougars Matta and Tiare Coker both earned second in their individual 200-yard freestyle events with times of 1:42.83 and 1:53.40, respectively. Coker continued to shine as she touched second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.58. Tama Tuitama also posted a second-place time of 1:51.48 in the men’s 200-yard backstroke.
Lindsay continued to impress as she came in second in the 200-yard breastroke, earning a time of 2:22.73. She put the crowd on its feet at the end of the meet as she out-touched Ute Sarah Lott, helping BYU take first in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay at 3:26.81.
The dive team started the duel meet on Friday night competing in the men’s 1-meter and the women’s 3-meter.
On Friday, Nathan Gonzales secured the win for BYU in the 1-meter event with a score of 336.90. Morgan Mellow took the lead for the women in the 3-meter event, placing third and recording a season high of 297.38.
For the divers on Saturday, Gonzales came in second at 340.13 in the 3-meter, while Kennedy Cribbs took the lead for BYU in the women’s 1-meter, posting a score of 270.08.
The dive team will next compete in the Air Force Invitational for its final competition of the season on Feb. 1-2. The meet will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the USAFA Cadet Natatorium.