BYU men's swim and dive capture MPSF Championship, women place third

ST. GEORGE, Utah / MISSION VIEJO, Calif. — First place finishes by the dive teams and top-times by the swim teams helped BYU men's swim and dive capture their third MPSF Conference Championship in as many years on Saturday evening with a total of 830 points, while the women were awarded third with 592 points. 

Diving

The BYU dive teams dominated the final day of the MPSF Championships, as the women brought in four top-15 finishes, while the men had five divers in the top 10. 

Alexia Jackson capped off an incredible week of performances in the final platform event, scoring a 277.80 to come away with the first-place finish, her second first place of the championships. Behind Jackson was Brooklyn Larson, who posted a fourth place 209.85.

In eighth place was Hailey Johnson, who finished the event with a 193.55, while Sophia DeBergh placed eleventh, scoring a 177.35. 

For the men, after a couple of top-three finishes in the opening days of the championships, Mickey Strauss ultimately prevailed in the platforms, scoring a first place 375.70. Chase Hindmarsh also had a great individual performance Saturday, placing second after posting a 353.65 to help the Cougars finish 1-2.

The men's team would also go 5-6-7 in the platform event, as Cody Dreesen scored a 329.25 for fifth place, while Carter Davis posted a 298.60 for sixth place and Nathan Marshall scored a 225.10 to come in seventh. 

Swimming

The swim events were kicked off Saturday evening at the Human Performance Center with the 1650-yard freestyle, where it was Megan Bergstrom who finished with the best time among Cougar swimmers with a third place 16:51.65. Regan Geldmacher also finished with respectable 16:59.30 in the event, good for fifth place.

In the following 200-yard backstroke event, Eliza Slade and Emma Marusakova finished 4-5, as Slade swam a 1:58.13, while Marusakova posted a 1:58.79. 

Halli Williams helped garner points for the Cougars in the 100-yard freestyle, swimming a 50.65 for an eighth-place finish. Mackenzie Miller followed up Williams performance with a sixth place 2:15.68 in the 200-yard breaststroke. 

The final event of the meet was the 400-yard freestyle relay, featuring a team of Victoria Schreiber, Julia Bartell, Lily Flint  and Halli Williams who came in seventh place with a 3:26.38. 

In the 1650-yard freestyle for the men, Abe Barragan and Darwin Anderson followed Bergstrom and Geldmacher's lead, as Barragan swam a 15:34.13 for a third-place finish, while Anderson posted a fifth place 15:40.02. 

The 200-yard backstroke event saw Diego Camacho complete a solid week of individual performances, coming in fourth place with a 1:44.92. 

Javier Nicolas Matta, Brigham Harrison and Luigi Riva delivered top eight performances in the 100-yard freestyle for the Cougars, with Matta swimming a second place 43.61, while Harrison posted a third place 43.69 and Riva posted an eighth place 44.30. 

The best individual performances for the men's team came in the 200-yard breaststroke, where four Cougars placed in the top eight. Evan VanderSluis came in third place after swimming a 1:58.14, with Emerson Edwards placing fourth after a 1:58.19. Will Bonnett came in seventh with a 1:59.59 and Josue Dominguez placed eighth after a 2:05.40. 

Brad Prolo brought home another individual win Saturday evening, this time in the 200-yard butterfly after swimming a 1:44.25. Tony Puertas also performed well in the event, swimming a 1:47.78. 

The final event featured a team of Harrison, Camacho, Riva and Matta, as they closed a stellar week of events with a first place and MPSF record 2:52.25 in the 400-yard freestyle relay, setting yet another school record on the week, this being their third. 

Looking Ahead

After a successful conference season, the BYU swim and dive teams will now turn their attention to nationals in the coming month, as individuals will prepare to compete in the NIC Nationals and the NCAA Nationals. More information will be provided as the events near.