Taylor, Brooks and Russell all take home MPSF honors

PROVO, Utah – Jake Taylor earned Swimmer of the Year and coaches John Brooks and Keith Russell were each named the Coaches of the Year in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

To go along with his two All-America honors, Taylor added the MPSF Swimmer of the Year to his trophy case to cap off the 2014-15 season. Taylor finished as a First-Team All-American in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke at the NCAA Men’s Swim and Dive Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.

The junior captain set MPSF Championship records in the 100 and 200 back at the 2015 MPSF Championships. His 100 back time of 45.53 was a school record, East LA College facility record and the second fastest time in the nation this year. Taylor added a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:12.16).

Taylor finished the regular season undefeated in the 100 back and posted the then fastest time in the country at the Texas Invite in December.

He finished second in the 50-yard freestyle (20.07), the 200-yard medley relay (1:28.26) and the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:21.25).

Brooks led the men’s swim team to their third MPSF Championship in five years, including back-to-back championships the last two years.

Along with coaching Taylor to his record-setting season, Brooks helped BYU sweep the top-three spots in the 400-yard individual medley. The Cougars set a school record in the 400-yard medley relay (3:12.16) and 200-yard medley relay (1:28.26). Rafael Alfaro also finished first in the 200-yard individual medley at the championships.

Russell wrapped up his stellar 23-year career at BYU with his men’s divers finishing with five of the top-seven placements on all three championship boards.

Kevin Dreesen earned a first-team All-MPSF honor and a second-place finish on the three-meter.

True freshman Nathan Gonzales placed third on platform and earned a first-team honor while qualifying for the NCAA Championships. During the regular season, BYU had five of the top seven diving scores in the conference on all three boards. Prior to BYU joining the MPSF, Russell was a 14-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.