LAS VEGAS – The BYU swim and dive teams traveled to face UNLV on Friday, Nov. 5.
"It has been a season of health issues and injuries. Jake Christofferson, our trainer, has been an incredible help in taking care of our athletes," said head coach Shari Skabelund. "They all fought hard tonight. We had some incredible racing and competing going on to the very end. As a coaching staff, we are so proud of our team."
BYU’s men’s team secured the win over UNLV, earning a team score of 154 while UNLV scored 144.
Freshman Tanner Nelson led the Cougars to victory, winning each of the three individual events he competed in. He set a new BYU record for the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:07.30, beating the previous record he set in early October by several seconds. Nelson then went on to record times of 4:24.22 in the 500-yard freestyle and 3:52.54 in the 400-yard IM for two more first-place finishes.
Nelson was not the only swimmer to post multiple-event wins at UNLV. Javier Nicolas earned three first-place finishes, winning the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.63 and the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48:29. He also teamed with Diego Camacho, Josue Dominguez and Connor Stirling to win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:27.97.
Stirling had an additional first-place finish as well, swimming the 50-yard freestyle in 20.28.
Brad Prolo added another nine points for the Cougars with a win in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 1:48.83.
The women’s team was unable to overcome UNLV, but two BYU swimmers took two first-place finishes each.
Regan Geldmacher won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:59.15, as well as the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:12.39. Brynn Sproul took first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.48 and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:01.10.
BYU’s dive teams won all of the diving events at Buchanan Natatorium.
Kennedy Cribbs took first place in both women’s dive events, scoring a 323.15 on the 3-meter dive and a 285.95 on the 1-meter dive. Mickey Strauss took first in both of the men’s dive events, earning a 342.75 on the 3-meter dive and a 281.50 on the 1-meter dive.
The Cougars next competitions will take place Nov. 17-20. The swim teams will travel to St. George, Utah to compete in the Dixie Invitational from Nov. 18-20, while the dive teams will head east for the Missouri Invite Nov. 17-19. More information regarding those meets will be available at a later date.