COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A pair of school relay records fell and a number of top times were achieved after the first day of the Art Adamson Invitational
After a solid first session, Utah began the night swim by setting a new standard and winning the 200 free relay.
Paul Ungur,
Rodolfo Moreira,
Liam O'Haimhirgin and
Clay Stoddard finished in 1:18.09, five-tenths of a second faster than the previous mark in 2014 at the Pac-12 Championships. The time also qualified the quartet for a NCAA provisional cut.
The evening was capped by another success in relay action. The 400 medley grouping of Ungur, O'Haimhirgin,
Ben Scott and
Jack Burton broke the previous Utah mark by more than a full two seconds (3:09.59) and placed second in the event.
In between the two relay records, it was an outstanding night for the Utah men who sit second overall after also capturing the 500 and 50 free events.
Rahiti De Vos and
Brody Lewis finished first and second, respectively, in the 500 free. De Vos, who also had the fastest prelim time, swam a 4:16.81, the second-fastest ever by a Ute, and earned a NCAA "B" cut. Lewis swam the eighth-fastest time in Utah history (4:25.84), while
Peter Kotson finished with a new PR of 4:28.33, giving the Utes three swimmers in the top five of the event this evening.
Ungur was the standout in the 50 free, winning in 19.57, the second-fastest mark in Utah history. Moreira, who had the fastest time in prelims and fourth-fastest mark in Utah history, 19.80, came in a close second. Both qualified as NCAA "B" cut times. In the same event, O'Haimhirgin placed sixth (20.21) and Stoddard grabbed the top spot in the "B" final
In the 200 IM,
Daniel McArthur placed fifth to pace the Utes. He was second in the prelim swim with a time of 1:46.16, qualifying him for a NCAA "B" cut. He was joined by two other Utes in hitting the provisional NCAA mark as
Ethan Dillard went seventh (1:48.21) and
Austin Phillips won the "B" final (1:46.90).
On the women's side,
Dorien Butter placed 14
th in the 50 free after swimming a 22.94 in prelims and qualifying for the "B" final. It was the eighth-fastest time ever in the event by a Ute swimmer.
Also in the morning swim,
Sara McClendon clocked in with a time a of 4:51.07 in the 500 free prelims, the ninth-fastest mark in Utah history.
During the relays, the 400 medley;
Sarah Lott,
Genevieve Robertson,
Gillian St. John and Butter, finished eighth (3:37.73) and the 200 free; St. John, Butter,
Jenna Marsh and
Claire Jackson, ended up ninth (1:31.52).
The Utes will continue competition tomorrow with swimming preliminaries beginning at 9:30 a.m. MST.