MONTEREY PARK, Calif – Preston Jenkins and Levi Jensen both broke BYU school records in the Friday night finals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, while Nathan Gonzales won the 3-meter with a new personal best.
“We had a great day with a lot of great swims,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “Preston Jenkins and Levi Jensen broke school records and Haley Bertoldo swam well at her first championships after returning home from an LDS mission.”
Jenkins took first in the men’s 200-yard freestyle with a new personal best and a new school record of 1:35.00. In the men’s 100-yard breaststroke prelims, Jensen broke his own school record with a time of 54.08. In the finals, he broke it again with a new record of 53.88, while taking third in the event. Gonzales won his second event of the MPSF Championships, becoming the men’s 3-meter champion with a new personal best of 384.00.
Altogether, the Cougars qualified nine different swimmers into the Friday night championships heat finals. Haley Bertoldo took second place in the women’s 100-yard backstroke with a new season high of 54.24.
In the men’s 400-yard IM, John Morris placed fourth in the championships heat with a personal best of 3:54.93. Nathan Rogers earned a personal best in prelims with a time of 3:54.00 and in finals took sixth at 3:55.82.
Ellie Thornbrue earned a season high in her women’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.62 and placed sixth in finals. In the women’s 400-yard IM, Kelly Hatanaka recorded a new season high of 4:23.80 and placed eighth in finals. Kunmi Ogunfeibo placed sixth in the men’s 100-yard backstroke final with a time of 49.09.
In the men’s 400-yard Medley Relay, a team of Ogunfeibo, Jensen, Luis Ventura and Jenkins took third with a time of 3:14.30. The women’s team took sixth as a team of Bertoldo, Mariah Lindsay, Thornbrue and Natalie Bennion, recording a time of 3:45.31.
“I am proud of the men getting five of the top eight spots in today’s event,” BYU dive coach Tyce Routson said. “The team has been close and supportive of each other all year against great odds so I am excited to see what they do tomorrow.”
The men’s 3-meter finals came down to the last dive, however Gonzales was able to overcome the pressure and came out in first place. Morgan Paul scored a new season high of 293.25 on the 3-meter, earning her first BYU zone qualifying score and placing third in finals.
In the men’s finals, Matt Denkers came in fourth with a new season high of 333.30. Bryce Farabee recorded a score of 330.25 for sixth place followed by Morgan Cooper in seventh and Kimble Mahler in eighth.
Kimble Mahler and Adia London also recorded personal bests today in the 3-meter at 306.00 and 249.75, respectively.
The MPSF Championships conclude tomorrow with swim prelims beginning at 10 a.m. PST, 1650-yard freestyle at 3:20 p.m. PST and finals starting at 6:00 p.m. PST at the ELAC. Diving platform will start at 12 p.m. PST at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, Calif. Live stats and a live stream are available on the schedule page.