PROVO, Utah – Sarah Eliason, Summer Thresher and Taylor Bennett all set top-five all-time BYU records as BYU women’s swim defeated Utah Tech 127-87 Friday night at the Richards Building Pool.
“It was a lot of fun to have the girls support one another and have a fun and exciting meet.” Head coach Tamber McAllister said, “They really bonded tonight and raced well. They also swam freely.”
Eliason, who set the 50 Butterfly school record earlier this year, highlighted the Cougars performance by breaking her own mark in the event by 0.18 seconds and clocking in at 24.31. The junior finished first, nearly a second ahead of sophomore Sophie Scoville who finished in 25.42.
“That's something she's been chasing after for a while,” McAllister said of Eliason’s performance, “We're excited that she was able to do it in our pool.”
The record breaking performance did not stop there, Thresher continued to find her way onto the top ten boards posting a first place, 25.17 second 50 backstroke time, which sits at No. 3 all-time at BYU. The freshman, who now has her name on all three backstroke record boards after just three collegiate performances.
Bennett added to the record setting night finishing first overall in the 100 individual medley posting a 58.20 second performance to set the No. 5 all-time record in the event. The sophomore from Pleasant Grove, Utah now holds three separate spots on the BYU record boards.
On top of the records, BYU, celebrating ladies night with almost everything in the venue decorated in pink, claimed first in every event except for the 100 backstroke where Utah Tech’s Mary Cross beat out Chesney Bonner’s 56.05 by 0.02 seconds to claim the victory. The 200 medley relay squad composed of Thresher, Eliason, Lucy Warnick and Tatum Cooley earned the first victory of the night for BYU with a 1:40.37 finish.
Melissa Turlea won the 200 freestyle in 1:51.10, Bonner claimed victory in the 100 butterfly touching the wall in 55.45 seconds and Warnick won the 50 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley.
Cooley won the 50 free style in 23.19, Annabelle Martin was victorious in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:03.13 finish and the 400 freestyle relay team featuring Kara Martinson, Emilie Griffin, Bonner and Schoville rounded out the meet, winning in 3:24.76.
The Cougars won the meet 127-87 over Utah Tech, marking their second victory of the season over the Trailblazers after clashing at the CMU Shootout in early October.
Up Next
Both BYU men’s and women’s swim and dive face off against UNLV at the Richards Building Pool tomorrow morning, November 7 at 11:00 a.m. MST.