Major Test Awaits Utah Swimming in Dallas

Wednesday, November 19

Dallas, TX

All Day

University of Utah

SMU Invitational

Utah Utes Swim vs. Colorado Mesa at Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, October 31, 2025.
Doribel Buenrostro/Utah Athletics

Photo by: Doribel Buenrostro/Utah Athletics

11/18/2025 11:15 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utes look for strong result in first non-dual meet

SALT LAKE CITY – Following a record-breaking performance last time out in which six top-10 times were recorded, the Utah swimming program will look to continue its strong early-season run at the SMU Invitational at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center in Dallas, Texas. The meet will run from Wednesday, Nov. 19, through Saturday, Nov. 22.

Opponents: Air Force, Arkansas, Drury, Hawaii, North Texas, (RV/RV) Notre Dame, (7/3) Stanford
Location: Dallas, Texas | Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center
Dates: Wednesday, Nov. 19 – Saturday, Nov. 22
Follow: Watch | Live Results

Record Rewritten in Las Vegas
Five Utes etched their names in the University of Utah swim program record book while 13 swimmers set personal bests on Saturday afternoon in Utah's dual meet against UNLV. As a team, Utah's men's squad stayed undefeated on the year with a 178-84 victory over the Rebels while the women's side dropped a tightly-contested battle, falling 144-108.

Finn Winkler, Nolan Dunkel, Caleb Gallagher, Erin Palmer and Rylee McColley each logged top-10 times in Las Vegas, the first Utes to do so this season. Winkler and Palmer each tallied a pair of top times, with Palmer doing so in the 50 and 100 Free and Winkler in the 100 Back and 200 IM.

Winkler led the way for the Utes with 22 points on the afternoon, the most by any Utah swimmer through three meets this year. The sophomore finished first in the 100 Free and 200 IM and placed second in the 100 Back with a 47.27, the seventh-fastest time by a Ute. That mark trailed only Dunkel's 46.91, the fifth-fastest result in program history. Gallagher and Nick Chirafisi each logged 18 points to help lead the Utes to victory with Gallagher winning the 100 and 200 Breast as well as the 200 Medley Relay. His 54.02 in the 100 Breast marked the ninth-fastest time in the event by a Ute.

On the women's side, Palmer and McColley led Utah with 18 points apiece while Teagan Steinmetz finished with 10 points. Palmer logged a 22.24 in the 50 Free, the second-fastest time in program history and the fastest by a Ute since she swam a 22.25 in the event last season, and her 49.72 in the 100 Free is the 10th-best mark. McColley's 2:12.17 finish in the 200 Breast marked a new personal best and is the fourth-fastest time in Utah history.

Halloween W
The Utes dominated in their home opener on Halloween, with the men's team beating Colorado Mesa 228-72 and the women's side winning by a 192-108 scoreline. The Utes came out on top in 26 of 32 events, including eight podium sweeps.

Erin Palmer and Megan Legarth led the way for the women of Utah with a team-high 18 points. Palmer logged wins in the 100 Free, 100 Breast and 200 Free Relay and Legarth took gold in both the 100 and 200 Back. The duo also teamed with Veronica Gourley and Julia Bartell to win the 400 Medley Relay.

Evan VanBrocklin led the men's side with 18 points thanks to wins in both the 100 and 200 Free and took gold in the 200 Free Relay alongside Davis Stachelek, Ethan Moore and Sebastian Wrona. Caleb Gallagher, Nash Hale, Strahinja Maslo, Brandon Miller and Jakub Walter all contributed 13 points in the victory.

First Meet, No Jitters
Utah opened the season on the road against Wyoming in Green River. The men's side started the campaign with a 196-104 victory over the Cowboys while the women's team fell, 172-128.

Caleb Gallagher logged 20 points for the Utes, thanks to wins in both the 100 and 200 Breast, while Davis Stachelek and Evan VanBrocklin each logged a pair of individual wins and some relay victories. On the women's side, Rylee McColley led the charge with 18 points for the Utes thanks to a pair of victories, while Megan Legarth, Erin Palmer, Ella Derby and Teagan Steinmetz all logged double-digit points.

Big Test in the Big 12
Utah will look to take another step forward as a program as it embarks on its second season in the Big 12 Conference. The Utah men placed third at the Big 12 Championships a season ago, while the women's squad placed fifth in the conference. The Utes will look to improve on those finishes this season, bringing back 22 returners on the men's side and 17 on the women's.

A Look Back - In the Pool
Utah Swimming will look to continue the improvement it has seen under the leadership of Jonas Persson, who embarks on his fourth season at the helm of the program. After a successful first season in the Big 12 Conference, both the men's and women's teams will aim to compete for a conference title this season.

Erin Palmer put together her fastest season in the pool last season, posting a number of program records. Her 1:00.40 in the 100-yard breaststroke against Wyoming shattered a program record that had stood since 2014, while her 22.55 in the 50-yard freestyle marked the second-fastest time in program history. She also clocked a 22.57 in the event against BYU, the fastest time recorded inside the Ute Natatorium.
Palmer was named the Female Swimmer of the Meet at last season's CSCAA National Invitational Championships.
Nick Chirafisi, Jakub Walter, Jones Lambert and Evan VanBrocklin smashed the Utah program record in the 800m freestyle relay – a mark that had stood for 11 seasons – at the 2025 Big 12 Championships.
Chirafisi set three personal bests at the conference meet, recording new fastest times in the 200-, 500- and 1650-yard freestyle events.
Chirafisi, Lambert and Durgan McKean return to the pool after earning all-Big 12 first team honors a season ago, while Lambert, VanBrocklin, Walter, Strahinja Maslo and Brandon Miller were named to the all-Big 12 second team.
On the women's side, Palmer earned a first team all-Big 12 nod last season.

Coaches Corner
Persson brought on alumnus McKay King during the offseason to help guide the swim program. King swam for the Utes during the 2016-17 season, earning Pac-12 all-academic team honors, after swimming at BYU. He spent last season coaching at American Fork High School, leading the boys' team to the 5A state title, and has overseen the training of Paralympian Audrey Kim, who has set three American records and claimed five titles while under King's guidance.

King joins Jos Smith, Jordan Taylor, Aly Tetzloff and Brody Lewis as assistant coaches under Persson.

Looking Ahead
Utah divers travel to Princeton, N.J., for the Big Al Invitational from Dec. 4-6. Utah swimming hosts the annual Utah Winter Classic on Dec. 13 before closing out the year with a dual meet against Hawaii inside Ute Natatorium on Dec. 22.

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

###