Cougars finish strong in final day of Intermountain Shootout

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – BYU took home 13 wins on the final day of the Intermountain Shootout Invitational, totaling 23 first place finishes in the two-day meet.

The men’s team had a successful morning in Colorado, with several swimmers earning multiple first-place finishes.

Javier Nicolas Matta won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:50.55, then went on to finish first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.88. Tony Puertas followed just behind in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.05, giving BYU the top-two spots in that event.

Josue Dominguez took first in both of the men’s breaststroke events, winning the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 25.15 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a 2:02.84. Evan VanderSluis took second place in both breaststroke events, while Brad Prolo and Emerson Edwards took third and fourth respectively in the 200-yard breaststroke, giving BYU the top-four spots in that race.

Freshman Tanner Nelson broke his second pool record at El Pomar Natatorium, swimming 4:27.23 in the 500-yard freestyle and earning a Cougar victory in the event.

Prolo won the 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:49.92, and Brigham Harrison placed first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.53.

BYU relay teams took first in both men’s relay events. A team of Puertas, Dominguez, Diego Camacho and Connor Stirling won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:29.36. A team of Roger Woods, Matta, Stirling and Harrison took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:59.78.

The women also contributed multiple victories this morning, earning the top-two spots in the 500-yard freestyle. Regan Geldmacher took first in the event with a time of 5:03.26. Brynn Sproul followed for second, with a time of 5:05.68. 

Sproul went on to take first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.36.

On back-to-back days, the dive team won in both diving events. Kennedy Cribbs won the women’s one-meter dive with a score of 306.25. BYU took the top two spots in the men’s three-meter dive, with Mickey Strauss taking first with a score of 375.75 and Cody Dreesen earning second with a 277.40.