OKLAHOMA -- BYU's women's and men's swimming and diving teams maintained their leads in the MWC championships after the second day of competition at the Aquatics Center in Oklahoma City.
The men have accumulated 305 and hold a 25-point advantage over second place Utah, while the women have scored 251 and are 20 points ahead of Colorado State.
The No. 19 ranked men's team placed first in two events, including Zach Anderson in the 500 free and Diogo Yabe in the 200 IM. The men's 200 free relay team consisting of Kurt Mullen, James Bekker, Yabe and Kenneth Carpenter placed second behind UNLV, but set a new school record of 1:20.10.
"I'm pleased with the position we're in," coach Tim Powers said. "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
Randy Belliston, last years MWC champion in the 200 IM, placed second behind Yabe, and the Cougars had three swimmers place in the top-eight of the 50-free, including Bekker (third), Mullen (fourth) and Carpenter (eighth).
BYU also had an excellent day in the 3-meter springboard with Justin Beardall placing second and Scott Randall placing third.
On the women's side, the Cougars continued to excel. Brittany Davis placed first in the 500 free and anchored the 200 free relay team that placed first.
Coach Stan Crump was especially pleased with how his team performed in the 200 IM. BYU placed three swimmers in the top-11. Carolyn Wigginton placed eighth followed by Tamber McAllister (10th) and Julie Nelson (eleventh). In the 50 free, Nichole Tolley finished third.
"It's not anywhere near over, but we are swimming well," Crump said. "If we swim well, we definitely have a chance to win this."
Tomorrow's competition will consist of the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 back and the women's 3-meter springboard. For complete results from the 2004 MWC swimming and diving championships visit www.themwc.com.