Freshman swimmers stand out in Intermountain Shootout

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Freshman swimmers stood out for BYU swimming and diving, while diver Morgan Paul received a 1A zone cut on Friday evening during the first day of the Intermountain Shootout.

Day 1 Results

“We had some great swims with some lifetime bests,” BYU head coach John Brooks said. “It’s great to see the hard work pay off and it’s nice to be back racing and representing BYU with pride.”

The men brought BYU to a strong start placing first and second in the 200-yard medley relay. The women were able to place second in the women’s 200-yard medley relay with freshman swimmers Makayla Cazier as the lead and Gwen Gustafson as the anchor helping their team record a time of 1:46.66. Cazier came back with another win in the women’s 400-yard IM with a time of 4:29.70.

Matt Abernethy claimed the first win in the men’s 200-yard free, recording a winning time of 1:44.55. The men were able to keep the winning streak alive with Tamaalelagi Tuitama taking the win for the 400-yard IM at 4:04.07 and Josue Dominguez following placing first in the 100-yard breast at 56.59.

Swimmers Gustafson and Payton Sorenson both came in first in the 50-yard free, Gustafson with a time of 23.80 and Sorenson with a time of 20.57. Freshman Cougars also swept in the 100-yard backstroke. Brynn Sproul recorded a time of 55.95 while Kunmi Ogunfeibo recorded a time of 50.73, both placing first.

Continuing with the lead, Tiare Coker and Madeline Zarchin pulled in first and second place in the women’s 50-yard fly. Coker took first in the event with a time of 25.85 and Zarchin took second at 26.17. Abernethy and Connor Stirling joined in taking the top placements for the men’s 50-yard fly. Abernethy recorded a career best of 22.90 and Stirling recorded a time of 22.97.

The diving team also claimed a win with Paul taking first in the 3-meter event with a score of 283.80, giving her a 1A zone cut.

The Colorado Mesa Shootout will continue Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. MDT. Live stats can be found here and a live video feed can be found on this link.