Utah vs Wyoming (Men)
- January 19, 2024
- Green River, Wyo.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. – Brandon Miller, Will Woodall and Jaek Horner all picked up multiple victories and their efforts helped the University of Utah men’s swimming team top the Wyoming Cowboys on Friday afternoon, 158-96, at the Green River High School Aquatic Center in Green River, Wyo.
“Today was a fun meet,” said head coach Jonas Persson. “It was great to watch the guys get up and race multiple events and race hard. It was a short meet, which made it extra challenging, but overall, the guys applied themselves, they raced hard, they had positive attitudes throughout the whole meet and we came away with a win.”
Miller helped Utah’s cause by rattling off a team-high three triumphs, starting in the 100 back, where he clocked in at 49.96. He later captured the top spot the 200 back in 1:48.42 and outswam his competitors again in the 400 IM in 4:01.79. This marked the first time in his Utah career Miller has posted three first-place finishes in one meet.
Woodall’s wins came back-to-back, first in the 50 free with a time of 20.62 and then he touched first in the 100 free in 45.65 to put up his first two triumph day as a Ute. Horner dominated in the breaststroke, winning the 100 breast in 55.58 and the 200 breast in 2:03.99. This makes three meets in which Horner has bested the competition in both of those events.
The Utes excelled in both relays on Friday, taking the 400 medley relay in 3:18.83 thanks to Parker McOmber, Horner, Jackson Kehler and Evan VanBrocklin and Horner, Woodall, Davis Stachelek and Kehler joined forces to reach the winner’s circle in the 200 free relay in 1:22.47. Jakub Walter was the fastest man in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.63, Marko Kovacic outpaced the field in the 200 fly in 1:49.15, Nick Chirafisi claimed first in the 500 free in 4:36.35 and Kehler logged his team’s last individual victory of the afternoon in the 100 fly in 49.71.
“We know what we need to work on,” said Persson, “and this meet emphasized the things we need to keep working on. We had a lot of guys step up and show great promise, which, especially for the younger guys, is a great sign for conference and a great sign for the years to come.”
Looking Ahead
Utah’s men’s swimmers will have to wait until Feb. 9 to get back in the pool and on that day the Utes will by in Provo, Utah to begin a two-day meet against BYU. The program’s female swimmers will visit Washington State on Feb. 2.
Courtesy: Wyoming Athletics
The Wyoming Cowboy swimmers dropped a dual to Utah 158 -96 on Friday afternoon in Green River, as the Pokes and Utes met in the at the Green River High School Aquatic Center for the first time in seven years.
“We knew going in Utah was a better team., they have a lot more depth, a lot more talent than us.” UW head coach Dave Denniston said. “Charlie Clark did a great job for us winning that 1,000 and fighting all the way through the 400 IM, and Gavin Smith winning the 100 fly was also a great swim. I think, overall, we are a lot better than what we showed today.”
The Pokes finished the dual winning four events. Wyoming also recorded five second-place finishes and earned first and second in two different events.
In the individual events, Charlie Clark highlighted the day winning two of the three races he competed in, leading the way in 1000-yard freestyle (9a;34.98) and the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:07.42. Gavin Smith also touched first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.71.
The Cowboys swept the 400-yard individual medley. In addition to Clark’s first-place finish, Drew Ravegum touched second at 4:07.80. The Pokes also swept the 100-yard butterfly. After Smith’s finish, Preston Harrison took second, and Reilly Gilbert claimed third.
In other notable individual performances, Quinn Cynor took second in the 200-yard freestyle at 1;39.84 just finishing behind the Ute swimmer. Matthew Lang took second in the 50-yard freestyle at 21.08.
In relay action, the Cowboys placed first and second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Cynor, Jakob Borrman, Lang and Quinn Teller swam a time of 1:22.75.
The Cowboys travel to Las Vegas with the Cowgirls, to compete against UNLV at Jim Reitz Pool on January 26 and 27.