LAS VEGAS – BYU swim team qualified 19 swimmers into finals, many earning season highs, on the second day of the UNLV Invite.
“We had some ups and downs today, but the team fought well through some adversity,” BYU swimming head coach John Brooks said. "The highlight of the meet was Kelly Hatanaka in the 400-yard IM and the men’s and women’s 800-yard freestyle relay.”
In the first event of the day, junior Kelly Hatanaka earned second place and a season high in the women’s 400-yard IM prelims with a time of 4:26.68. In the women’s 100-yard butterfly prelims junior Ellie Thornbrue Brinton placed sixth, finishing with a time of 56.04. In the finals, she bested her prelims time with 55.93.
Sophomore Levi Jensen received 12th place in the prelims of the men’s 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 56.63, qualifying for finals. In the finals, Jensen bested his prelim time, earning him fourth place with a time of 55.92.
Freshmen BYU divers Kimble Mahler and Kaylie Jackson both competed in the diving portion of the invite. Mahler placed third in the men’s 3-meter with a score of 275.90, while Jackson scored 221.75 in the 1-meter, earning her fourth place.
In the women’s final event of the day, a team of Thornbrue Brinton, sophomore Tiare Coker, senior Natalie Bennion and sophomore Casey Cunningham placed second in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:29.23. The men’s 800-yard freestyle relay followed, as a team of seniors Luis Ventura, Kent Fellows, David Harlan and sophomore James Sorensen placed 10th, besting their seed time by almost 25 seconds in a time of 6:50.24.
The final day of the invite starts Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. PST with the women’s 100-yard IM at Jim Reitz Pool. Live results are available on the swim and dive schedule page.