MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – The BYU men’s swim and dive team finished second overall with a final score of 729, while the women’s team placed third at 570 at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at East Los Angeles Community College.
“Our team did a great job tonight fighting until the very end,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “We had a lot of fun even though we came up short. Both teams improved from last year and we’re proud of ourselves.”
On the final day, Katie McBratney posted a new school record and took second in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:12.29. Teammate Gwen Gustason also earned first place in the 100-yard freestyle with a winning time of 49.26. Brynn Sproul also recorded a top-three, finishing in the 200-yard backstroke at 1:56.14.
On the men’s side, Connor Stirling touched in fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43.79. Josue Dominguez and Levi Jensen landed third and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with times of 1:57.44 and 1:57.44, respectively. Javier Matta claimed fourth place in the 200-yard fly, touching at 1:47.27.
To end the meet, a team of Tiare Coker, Kali Brown, Gustafson and Mariah Lindsay placed fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:22.51, while Matta, Jensen, Roger Woods and Stirling came in third in the individual 400-yard freestyle relay at 2:55.31.
The divers were able to show off in the platform event on their final day of competition. Freshman Mickey Strauss led the board for the men throughout conference, placing first with a score of 381.30 during platform and staying undefeated in all events.
For the women’s final day, Kaylie Jackson landed in fourth place on platform, posting a score of 233.15. Morgan Mellow, Morgan Paul, and Summer Westover also landed top-10 finishes at sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
“We had outstanding efforts by all the divers today on a challenging, rainy, cold day,” BYU head dive coach Tyce Rouston said. “They all had to mentally dig deep to stay focused during the platform event with those conditions. I’m really proud of everyone and their performances.”
For the second time in BYU history, all BYU divers will compete at the Zone E Diving Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona, on March 9-11 at the Douglas J. Wall Aquatic Center. Decisions about which swimmers will compete in the NCAA Championships will be determined in the following weeks.