Waxman, Petersen Medal for Swim & Dive at Pac-12 Championships

Thursday, February 23

Federal Way, WA

All Day

University of Utah

Pac-12 Championships

Photo by: Chuck Arelei

Waxman, Petersen Medal for Swim & Dive at Pac-12 Championships

2/23/2023 10:38 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

Utah’s divers collect two more bronze medals on day two in Washington

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Holly Waxman won a bronze medal in the women's 1m and Elias Petersen grabbed his second bronze in two days, this one in the men's 3m, as the University of Utah swimming and diving team competed on day two of the Pac-12 Diving and Women's Swimming Championships, which were held on Thursday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.

On the Boards
"Yesterday was great and today we topped that," said diving coach Richard Marschner. "We've had a podium finisher in every event so far and we're getting more and more confident as this competition goes."

Waxman got her day off to an excellent by racking up 300.15 points in prelims, good enough for third and a spot in the final. She was joined in the top 10 by Kathryn Grant, whose score of 268.75 also pushed her through to the final. Lexi Mills finished the prelims in 17th and Lizzy DeCecco landed in 20th.

In the final, Waxman put together another top-notch performance and her work earned her a mark of 311.15, which not only put her on the podium, but also was a personal best and just over a point away from the program record. Grant collected 288.10 points to finish seventh.

The men's 3m started with Petersen posting a mark of 380.45, putting him second in the prelims and Luke McDivitt grabbed eighth with a score of 322.25, earning both divers a finals spot. Jake Suchowski placed 17th, while Jenner Pennock ended the day in 20th.

In the final, four different divers logged scores over 400 and Petersen's 423.25 was a new personal best, put him fourth all-time in Utah history and earned him his second bronze medal of week. McDivitt's 366.60 allowed him to move up two spots and finsh the final in sixth.

"Holly missed her first dive in finals," said Marschner, "and was in last by a fair amount after round one but she showed incredible resilience and belief in herself and fought all the way back. Kathryn showed similar resolve and was the top freshman in the event.

"Elias put on a show in finals and was in the mix for the win in the best 3m final I've seen at this meet since 2015. Luke put up a great fight and moved up two places with a very steady performance throughout. This was a very fun event to be a part of and we are setting ourselves up great for zones and NCAAs."

In the Pool
Cameron Daniell got Utah's day in the pool off to good start by clocking in at 4:48.76 in the 500 free, a new personal best that moves her into sixth all-time. That time allowed her to finish the event in 20th.

In the 200 individual medley, Summer Stanfield and Kayla Miller both put up times that were worthy of top 10 spots in the program record book. Stanfield's morning swim was timed at 1:59.05, moving her into third all-time, while Miller finished the prelims in 2:00.67, the seventh fastest time by a Ute. In the final, Stanfield took 15th, while Miller placed 21st.

"We had some really great swims today," said associate head coach Michele Lowry. "The upperclassman really stepped up. Summer, Cameron, and Kayla all had phenomenal morning swims, and then repeated them in finals. The energy was very high and everyone was so proud of each other's accomplishments. Tomorrow is historically a better day for us and we are looking forward to seeing some fast swims."

Looking Ahead
The list of finals on the docket for Friday includes the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and the men's platform.

Follow the Utes!
For fans of the Utah men's/women's swimming and diving programs, follow the Utes on Twitter (@UTAHswimdive), Instagram (@utahswimdive) and Facebook (@UtahUtesSwimDive).