BYU's swim and dive team completes last home meet versus Utah, men's swim team remains undefeated

PROVO, Utah — BYU’s swim and dive team hosted Utah University this weekend for its last home meet of the 2021-22 season, with the men’s team holding onto its undefeated record.

“It’s been rough with COVID for both teams, but the kids swam great,” said BYU head coach Shari Skabelund. “They had fun and they really celebrated their passion for the sport today.”

The divers started out the meet on Friday, with Kennedy Cribbs winning the women’s 3m event with a score of 299.10 and Mickey Strauss taking second place in the men’s 1m event with a 326.10. On Saturday, Cribbs took first in the women’s 1m event with a 305.85, while Strauss took second in the men’s 3m dive with a 352.88.

The women’s swim team was unable to overcome Utah, but they still recorded several notable swims during the meet. Katie McBratney took first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.89, then took third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:19.17. She also contributed to a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay with Brynn Sproul, Emma Colvin and Halli Williams, recording a time of 3:48.52. Sproul went on to place second in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:52.14 and third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.80. Brylee Heywood took third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.69, and Rachel Oyler took third in the 100-yard freestyle with a 52.25. 

The men continued their undefeated season, taking down Utah 180-120. A relay team of Diego Camacho, Josue Dominguez, Javier Nicolas Matta and Connor Stirling started the day by taking first in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:14.33. Camacho went on to win the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 49.40, then took first in the 200-yard backstroke with a 1:50.52. Dominguez took first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.08, and Stirling won the 50-yard freestyle, swimming a 20:01. Matta won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.69, setting a new pool record in the event.

Tanner Nelson also broke pool records on Saturday, taking first and breaking the record for the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:36.65. Nelson then set a pool record in the 500-yard freestyle, taking first in the event with a time of 4:27.17 before winning the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:49.92.

Brad Prolo won the 200-yard butterfly with a 1:49.34, and Brigham Harrison won the 100-yard freestyle with a 44.78. The men finished the meet with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. A team of Harrison, Roger Woods, Matta and Stirling took first in the event with a time of 1:20.12.

Next up, the divers will head to Colorado for the Air Force Invite from Feb. 3-5. The swimmers’ next competition will be the MPSF Championships in California beginning on Feb. 16.