Upcoming Event: Men's Swimming & Diving versus Alumni Meet on October 11, 2025 at 10:00 AM
10:00 AM
Men's Swimming & Diving
vs Alumni Meet
Tuesday, February 25
Federal Way, Wash.
University of Utah
vs
Big 12 Championships
Photo by: Axe Tang/Utah Athletics
Utah Swim Smashes Program Record on Day 1 of Conference
2/25/2025 9:41 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
The Ute swimmers earn a bronze with new program record, divers secure silver
FEDERAL WAY, Wash.– Crushing an 11-year-old program record and securing two medals, Utah swim and dive made a statement on the first night of the Big 12 Conference Championship meet in Federal Way, Wash. on Feb. 25 at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
"We had a great first day," said head coach Jonas Persson. "Everyone stepped up and competed hard and really got things done."
Slay the Relays
"It was nice to get out on the podium in the men's relay and on the women's team diving event," said Persson. "We had a lot of lifetime bests and a school record, so overall, we have great momentum leading in to tomorrow."
On the diving side, Utah participated in the team diving event. The diving equivalent to a relay, three divers from each team divide the six groups among all three boards, two dives per athlete. For example, for the Utah women, Kathryn Grant competed a back armstand and a twister off the 10m platform, Callie Eaglestone took on a gainer on the 3m and a front on the 1m, while Holly Waxman would finish it off for the Utes with an inward on the 1m and a back on the 3m.
"Today wasn't exactly what we were hoping for, as we knew going in that we could compete for a Big 12 championship," said head diving coach Richard Marschner. "We had a rough start on both the women's and men's first dives, but I'm really proud of how they fought going in to the final round."
For the Women
For the Men
"Kathryn showed such resilience and even though our results were not what we wanted, I am 100% confident that this will fuel our fire for the rest of the meet," said Marschner. "We know we have so much more in us and we're dying to get back at it tomorrow."
Looking Ahead
The swimmers kick off day two at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning for the preliminary competition, while the divers take their start at 12:30 p.m., both groups hoping to earn a place in finals at 6:15 p.m.
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.
"We had a great first day," said head coach Jonas Persson. "Everyone stepped up and competed hard and really got things done."
Slay the Relays
- The Utah men's 800-yard freestyle relay broke an 11-year-old record after touching the wall at 6:18.04.
- Nick Chirafisi led the way, completing the first leg of the race at 1:34.34 for the fourth fastest time in Utah history. Jakub Walter hopped in second, finishing at 1:34.65. Jones Lambert took on the third leg, clocking in at 1:34,68, with Evan VanBrocklin as the anchor, touching the wall ay 1:34.37.
- On the women's side, Isabella Riso, Ella Derby, Chloe Thompson and Sydney even swam the 800-free relay for a sixth-place finish with a time of 7:14.71.
- In the 200-medley relay, Parker McOmber, Caleb Gallagher, Durgan McKean and Davis Stachelek touched in at 1:26.73 for a fifth-place finish.
- Norah Hay, Alyssa Sorenson, Sydney Even and Erin Palmer earned a seventh-place finish in the 200-medley with a time of 1:38.98.
"It was nice to get out on the podium in the men's relay and on the women's team diving event," said Persson. "We had a lot of lifetime bests and a school record, so overall, we have great momentum leading in to tomorrow."
On the diving side, Utah participated in the team diving event. The diving equivalent to a relay, three divers from each team divide the six groups among all three boards, two dives per athlete. For example, for the Utah women, Kathryn Grant competed a back armstand and a twister off the 10m platform, Callie Eaglestone took on a gainer on the 3m and a front on the 1m, while Holly Waxman would finish it off for the Utes with an inward on the 1m and a back on the 3m.
"Today wasn't exactly what we were hoping for, as we knew going in that we could compete for a Big 12 championship," said head diving coach Richard Marschner. "We had a rough start on both the women's and men's first dives, but I'm really proud of how they fought going in to the final round."
For the Women
- The diving women secured Utah its first Big 12 Conference medal with a second-place finish of 295.30.
- Grant started the Utes off on the 10m, earning 36.40 points on her back armstand double. The junior would then add 60.80 points in the final round after her back 2 ½ with a 1 ½ twist on the 10m platform, securing the Utes the silver medal.
- Eaglestone took on a gainer 2 ½ pike on 3m, accumulating 42 points towards the Utes overall score, before competing a front 2 ½ pike for 52 points.
- Waxman completed the third and fourth dives for the Utes with an inward 1 ½ on 1m for 51.60 points and a back 2 ½ on the three-meter springboard adding 52.50 points to the Utah women's total.
For the Men
- The diving men finished in fifth-place with a total score of 325.25.
- Attila Bernatsky took the first dive for the Utes, a back armstand double with a half twist, securing 36.45 points. The freshman's next dive would come in the fourth round, accumulating 63 points off an inward 2 ½ on the 3m.
- Elias Petersen crushed his gainer 2 ½ off the one-meter, earning 63 points. He would then compete, also on the 1m, a front 2 ½ with a full twist, often called a "full-out", for 60.80 points.
- Jesco Helling competed a front 3 ½ pike on the 3m, adding 55.80 points. The graduate student would finish the event for Utah with a back 3 ½ off the 10m platform, gaining 46.20 points.
"Kathryn showed such resilience and even though our results were not what we wanted, I am 100% confident that this will fuel our fire for the rest of the meet," said Marschner. "We know we have so much more in us and we're dying to get back at it tomorrow."
Looking Ahead
The swimmers kick off day two at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning for the preliminary competition, while the divers take their start at 12:30 p.m., both groups hoping to earn a place in finals at 6:15 p.m.
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.
Players Mentioned
Diving
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/ Women's Swimming & DivingHear It From Harlan with Utah Diving's Holly Waxman
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