PROVO, Utah – BYU swim and dive defeated Air Force and CMU on Saturday in its first home meet of the season.
“Being at home this weekend gave the team a tremendous emotional boost,” head coach Tamber McAllister said. “Our athletes took full advantage of not having to travel — they showed up focused, energized and ready to race. They competed with grit from start to finish, and breaking multiple pool records was a great reflection of the work they’ve been putting in all season.”
Final Results
| BYU - 231 | Air Force - 122 |
| BYU - 224.5 | CMU - 128.5 |
| CMU - 183 | Air Force - 170 |
Swimming
Saturday’s competition began with the 400 medley relay, where Tanner Edwards, Peter Etzold, Jake Aina and Max Kleinman of the A team took first at 3:10.42, a new Richard Building Pool record. Darwin Anderson followed the event with a first-place finish in the 1650 freestyle at 15:41.41.
Kleinman then took first in the 50 freestyle, clocking a time of 19.76, the sole sub-20 time of the event. Payton Plumb also competed, earning third place at 20.22. In the 200 backstroke, Jack Burke would secure a fourth-place finish at 1:48.85, adding to the Cougars’ lead.
Up next was the 100 breaststroke, where junior Evan VanderSluis took first with a time of 53.91. Will Bonnett (54.45) and Tyler Edlefsen (54.77) followed, earning third and fourth.
Tanner Nelson earned a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle, hitting the wall at 1:36.40, just shy of the current pool record, which he holds. Ethan Purcell was the next Cougar up in the event, taking sixth at 1:41.14.
Freshman Mattia Reina earned a second-place finish in the final individual event of the meet, touching the wall at 1:50.13 in the 200 butterfly. Jackson Dubreuil and Chas Jones competed in the event as well, taking eighth and ninth.
The 200 freestyle relay concluded the meet, where the A team — composed of Kleinman, Nelson, Joshua Reed and Plumb — took first at 1:19.42, breaking another Richard Building Pool record. Andrew Eliason, Lucca Ferreira, Bonnet and Jacob Ballard of the B team would take third in the event, finishing at 1:20.77.
Diving
Martí Llop finished first in the 3-meter event, leading the Cougars for a second day. He earned a score of 358.25, 43.40 points ahead of second place. Freshman Ashton Sparks took fifth with a score of 292.95, and Elijah Baker earned his highest placement of the season, scoring 285.45 in sixth place.
Up Next
BYU dive travels this week to Colorado to take on Air Force and other competition in the Air Force Invite. Swim will enjoy the weekend off before returning to the Richards Building Pool for the second and final home meet of the season against Utah, with competition beginning on Friday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. MST.