Utah Swim Finish Strong on Day 2 of Season Opener

Friday, October 4

Grand Junction, Colo.

University of Utah

Intermountain Shootout

Utah Swim Finish Strong on Day 2 of Season Opener

10/5/2024 2:12 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utah men and women collect 23 podium placements

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Utah Swim team collected their first relay gold of the season on day two of the Intermountain Shootout in the El Pomar Natatorium on Saturday morning.

"We responded really well coming back from yesterday, being able to go from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning," said head coach Jonas Persson. "Even though they're tired, they came in and did what needed to be done."

Sophomore Abby Pope started the Utes off strong with a first-place in 500 free 5:01.40, junior Chloe Thompson wasn't far behind, touching second with 5:02.01. The men's side popped off, collecting second through seventh place in the same race with freshman Nolan Arnholt leading them off, just .23 away from first with 4:34.59.

The Utes then collected second and third in women's 100-yard free with junior Lily Milner, 51.27, and junior Erin Palmer, 51.79.
Senior Alyssa Sorenson dropped time and snuck her way into second in the 50-breast, just out-touching freshman Rylee McColley.

In the women's 400 IM, sophomore Ella Derby touched second with a 4:30.24, three seconds before third place, sophomore Teagan Steinmetz. On the men's side, freshman Strahinja Maslo timed in at 3:58.19, bumping Brandon Miller into third.

Senior Norah Hay and junior Lily Milner grabbed gold and bronze for the Utes in the 200-yard backstroke, with 2:00.74 and 2:04.47 respectively.

On to the 100-yard butterfly, junior Evan VanBrocklin and senior Jacob Ballard battled it out for second and third, just .05 separating the two.
Hopping in to second place in the 200-yard breast, McColley came in at 2:18.42, and Steinmetz collected another bronze for Utah with 2:20.72
Closing out their season opener, the Utes grabbed their first gold in a relay with the women's 400-yard relay, touching the wall before both BYU teams.

"This meet certainly gave us a better understanding with how we're going to move forward with training, coaching and meets," said Persson. "I'm excited to see what we can accomplish for the rest of the season."

Looking Ahead
Utah's next challenge will be against Big 12 conference rivals, the Arizona Wildcats, in Tucson, Ariz. on Oct. 25-26.

Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @UTAHswimdive | Instagram: @utahswimdive | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahUtesSwimDive), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.