MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – Several Cougars earned first-place finishes to represent BYU swim and dive during the second day of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at East Los Angeles Community College Thursday.
“We had a solid morning and an even better night,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “The divers did a great job and we are all ready for another day.”
Katie McBratney finished first in the 200-yard individual medley and was the only swimmer to finish under two minutes with a time of 1:59.70. Gwen Gustafson placed second in the 50-yard freestyle at 22.71, finishing only a hundredth of a second behind first place.
Jared Shaw took the win in the men’s 50-yard freestyle with a 19.62 finish and Stirling followed quickly after, taking second at 19.77. Tyler Edlefsen and Javier Matta landed third and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley with times of 1:46.32 and 1:46.92, respectively.
BYU started off strong with both the men and women placing third in their individual 200-yard freestyle relay events. A team of Tiare Coker, Kali Brown, Mariah Lindsay and Gustafson finished with a time of 1:31.83, while Shaw, Levi Jensen, Roger Woods and Connor Stirling touched at 1:18.80 on the men’s side.
The divers also had their first day of competition and contributed some impressive dives, led by freshman Mickey Strauss recording a personal best and the win in the men’s 1-meter event with a score of 382.25. Teammate Kimble Mahler followed in second, posting a score of 350.10. Morgan Cooper also placed in the top-five, taking fifth at 302.15.
For the women, Cribbs placed second in the 3-meter event with a 315.60 on the board. Morgan Mellow and Morgan Paul also placed high at fourth and fifth with scores of 286.85 and 277.40, respectively.
“I’m extremely proud of how the divers performed and contributed on their first day of competition,” BYU head dive coach Tyce Rouston said. “The men stepped it up in consolation finals to squeak out as many points as possible for the team. The ladies also brought their game in finals, including Kennedy Cribbs who has the strongest list for the women. I’m extremely impressed with the determination of the athletes and am looking forward to the next day of competition.”
The MPSF Championships continue Friday with prelims at 10 a.m. PST and finals following at 6 p.m. MST. Diving will start Friday at 10 a.m. PST at the Marguerite Aquatic Center.