Horner Breaks Another Record for Utah Swim & Dive

Wednesday, November 15

College Station, TX

University of Utah

Texas A&M Invitational

Photo by: Jake Johanson

Horner Breaks Another Record for Utah Swim & Dive

11/17/2023 11:15 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utes put together another solid showing in College Station, Colorado

SALT LAKE CITY – Jaek Horner knocked down his second program record in as many days while Holly Waxman wrapped up three days in which she scored more points than any other diver at the Texas A&M Invitational at the Texas A&M Natatorium in College Station, Texas and the University of Utah swimming and diving team also participated in the third day of competition at the CMU Invitational at the El Pomar Natatorium in Grand Junction, Texas.

"I was very impressed with our new school records and our new Olympic trials cuts that we performed today," said head coach Jonas Persson. "I think we did well in the events that we expected to do well in. However, I am not fully satisfied with how we performed this weekend. I know the women's team is much stronger than what they showed the last three days and we are capable of doing better than how we performed the last three days."

Texas A&M Invitational
In the Pool
Horner capped off a phenomenal week in College Station with his second Utah record in two days, topping the mark he set less than a year ago in the 200 breast by touching the wall in 1:53.37. That time was also good enough to earn Horner a third-place finish and top the NCAA Championships B qualifying time as well.

Five more Utes achieved B qualifying marks as well, starting in the women's 200 back, where Norah Hay's 1:56.48 and Summer Stanfield's 1:56.57 both topped the benchmark and Brandon Miller accomplished the same feat in the men's 200 back, clocking in at 1:42.75, which also earned him a second-place finish. Two more Utes bested B standard in the men's 200 fly, with Evan VanBrocklin placing second by reaching the finish in 1:44.90 and Jakub Walter one spot behind with a mark of 1:45.30.

Utah's day was also highlighted by Will Woodall's win in the 100 free B final and a second-place showing by the men's 400 free relay quartet of Horner, Woodall, Matthew Dedering and Davis Stachelek.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us," said Persson, "a lot of reflection and discussion on this week about how to move forward and be a better team for the remaining three to four months of this season. Overall, the men's team performed pretty well, but they also have some changes and improvements that we have to take care of in order to reach our goals the season."

On the Boards
Holly Waxman was responsible for Utah's best showing in the women's platform with a score of 280.95 that earned her a second-place finish and an NCAA Championships qualifying spot. Kathryn Grant also exceeded the NCAA qualifying benchmark by tallying 226 points, putting her in 11th, while Sydney Kowalski placed 18th. In the men's platform competition, Jake Suchowski finished sixth, crafting a score of 240.35.

"We had a strong finish today on tower with personal bests from Holly and Jake," said head diving coach Richard Marschner. "Holly was the highest scoring diver of the meet and was the only one to podium on all three events. The meet as a whole was a huge success and it gives us some confidence and momentum going forward."

CMU Invitational
The highlights from Utah's third day in Grand Junction included a third-place showing by Jonathan Michaels in the men's 100 back that saw him reach the finish in 49.40. In the 200 free, Isabella Riso clocked in at 1:50.23 to take fourth on the women's side, while Kellen Cameron's mark of 1:40.44 in the men's race earned him sixth.

Colin Parker's efforts and time of 50.66 in the 100 fly B final put him in second and Nick Mason collected second place in the 400 IM B final, finishing in 4:03.06.

Looking Ahead
The Texas A&M Invitational concluded on Friday, but the Utes in Grand Junction have one more day of swimming remaining.

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