PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s swim and dive fell to Utah Friday night, despite setting three new Richards Building Pool (RBP) records.
"Our women showed incredible grit, our men battled hard and the competition brought out the best in everyone," head coach Tamber McAllister said. "We’re proud of this moment and even more excited for what’s ahead as we step into the Big 12.
The Cougars set three new RBP records, with the 200 medley relay A team taking first at 1:25.05, Darwin Anderson taking first in the 1,000 freestyle at 9:11.58, and Tanner Nelson finishing the 500 freestyle at 4:22.89.
The Utes also set a new RBP record in the 200 freestyle at 1:35.23.
Swimming
The Cougars kicked off competition Friday night with a furious start in the 200 medley relay, where Tanner Edwards, Peter Etzold, Jake Aina and Max Kleinman of the A team took first at 1:25.05, an RBP record.
Another RBP record was broken in the following event as senior Darwin Anderson took first in the 1,000 freestyle at 9:11.58, shattering his previous record by nearly six seconds. The performance also marked the third-fastest finish in BYU history in the event. Easton Mousser followed closely behind in second, finishing at 9:15.38.
Tanner Nelson would take second in the next event, the 200 freestyle, hitting the wall at 1:36.09. Senior Jack Burke followed with a fourth-place finish in the 100 backstroke at 48.95.
Etzold and Evan VanderSluis claimed first and second in the 100 breaststroke, with Etzold finishing at 52.65 and VanderSluis finishing at 53.34. Mattia Reina also secured a third-place finish in the following event, with a 1:47.19 finish in the 200 butterfly.
Max Kleinman took first in the 50 freestyle, touching the wall at 19.56. Tanner Edwards placed third in the same event, finishing at 20.18. Kleinman followed up his performance with another first-place finish in the following event, the 100 freestyle, at 43.42. Joshua Reed took third in the same event, finishing at 44.09.
Tyler Edlefsen (1:57.76) and Etzold (1:58.34) placed first and second in the 200 breaststroke, followed by the 500 freestyle, where Nelson earned a new RBP record with a first-place finish at 4:22.89. Anderson and Mousser also placed third and fourth in the event.
The 100 butterfly followed with Aina leading BYU with a second-place performance at 47.48. In the next event, the 200 individual medley, Nelson took second with a 1:46.74 finish. Edlefsen also competed, taking third at 1:47.31.
The concluding event of the competition was the 400 freestyle relay, where the A team, composed of Payton Plumb, Will Bonnett, Lucca Ferreira and Kleinman, took second at 2:55.32.
Diving
Martí Llop led BYU with a second-place finish in the 1m at 323.75. Ashton Sparks followed in third, claiming a score of 276.25. Elijah Baker also competed, taking sixth at 219.80.
Following in the 3m, Sparks took second with a personal-best 345.55. Llop followed with a fourth-place finish and Baker took sixth to wrap up competition on the diving board.
Up Next
BYU competes in Greensboro, NC at the Big 12 Championship, Feb 24-28, as postseason competition begins.