Aquino and Palmer break school records at Texas Invite

AUSTIN, Texas -- Freshman Lucas Aquino and junior Hayden Palmer broke BYU records for the 200 fly and the 400 individual medley this weekend at the Texas Invite. 

Aquino broke the school's all-time record in the 200 fly in 1:46.54, which was originally set by teammate Dallin Johnson's father, Paul Johnson, in 1985 (1:47.31). 

"This was the oldest school record we have on books," BYU head coach John Brooks said. "That record has kind of had a curse on it forever. It's a 30 year old record that guys have been trying to break over the last few years, so that was a pretty impressive record to break."

Palmer shined for the Cougars in the men’s 400 individual medley taking second place with a time of 3:45.38 and beat the all-time BYU record 3:47.54 which he set himself earlier in the year. This time should allow him to represent BYU at the NCAA Championships this year. 

"This meet went pretty well for us and I'm really proud of all of our swimmers," Brooks said. "Everybody that swam either got a personal-best time or a season-best time."

Senior Hailey Campbell finished 10^th in both the women’s 100 and 200 back with times of 53.91 and 1:59.98, respectively.

The women’s 400 free relay team of Kimberly Doroghian, Campbell, Alexandria Sorensen and Andrea Grant placed 12^th in the event in a time of 3:24.23, a whole four seconds faster than they have swam all season. The team also placed 12^th yet again in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:50.90. In the 200 free relay, they earned 12^th one more time with a time of 1:34.09.

Another 10^th place finish went to the men’s 800 relay team of Jake Taylor, Rafael Alfaro, Palmer and Aquino with a finishing time of 6:41.95. The Cougars performed well in the relay races, securing a handful of top-15 finishes. Alfaro and Palmer placed top-15 in the men’s 200 individual medley. Alfaro touched the wall in 1:48.25 while Palmer followed in 1:48.38.

The men’s relay teams also placed 12^th in the 200 free relay. The team of Jordan Fletcher, McKay King, Rainer Ng and Taylor completed the event in just 1:21.94, with the second men’s relay team coming in close behind. In the 400 free relay, the team of King, Fletcher, Palmer and Taylor earned 11^th in 3:00.66.

The Cougars now head to sunny Puerto Rico for their winter, mid-season training. Their next official meet will be Jan. 17 at Denver against New Mexico and Denver.