Busy Weekend Kicks Off 2026 Swim and Dive Slate

Friday, January 9

Los Angeles, CA

All Day

University of Utah

UCLA Diving Invite

Utah Utes Swim vs. Hawaii at Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City, Utah on Monday, December 22, 2025.
Doribel Buenrostro/Utah Athletics

Photo by: Doribel Buenrostro/Utah Athletics

Busy Weekend Kicks Off 2026 Swim and Dive Slate

1/8/2026 11:06 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Utah is set to compete in three meets between Friday and Sunday

SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah swim and dive program opens the 2026 portion of its schedule this weekend with three separate meets. The men's swim team travels to Denver on Friday, Jan. 9, for a dual meet while the women's side heads to Los Angeles for a quad meet against UCLA, Iowa and UCSB on Saturday, Jan. 10. The Utah diving team is also headed to the City of Angels for the UCLA Diving Invite from Jan. 9-11.

Diving
Opponents: California Baptist, Northern Arizona, Pepperdine, San Diego State, UCLA, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, UNLV, USC
Location: Spieker Aquatic Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Friday, Jan. 9 – Sunday, Jan. 11
Time: 11:30 a.m. MT
Live Results: DiveMeets

Men's Swim
Opponent: Denver
Location: El Pomar Natatorium | Denver, Colo.
Date: Friday, Jan. 9
Time: 2:00 p.m. MT
Watch:YouTube
Live Results: Meet Mobile

Women's Swim
Opponents: UCLA, Iowa, UCSB
Location: Spieker Aquatic Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Saturday, Jan. 10
Time: 11:00 a.m. MT
Live Results: Meet Mobile

Among the Best
The Utes were represented in the women's, men's and combined team rankings when the US Professional Diving Coaches Association (US PDCA) revealed its second set of in-season rankings at the end of last month. The women's team checked in at No. 19 nationally, the combined squad was ranked No. 21 and the men's side received votes.

Utah sits as the second-highest-ranked Big 12 school on the women's side, three spots behind No. 16 Kansas, and the third-highest-ranked men's squad behind No. 11. Arizona and RV TCU. As a combined program, Utah is second in the conference behind only No. 14 Arizona.

Big Scores Earn Big 12 Awards
So far this season, four Utah divers and two Ute swimmers have earned weekly awards from the Big 12 Conference. Elias Petersen has earned Men's Diver of the Week honors twice while Attila Bernatsky has been recognized once and both Kathryn Grant and Callie Eaglestone has been named the conference's Women's Diver of the Week. Petersen and Eaglestone took home Diver of the Week recognition on Dec. 30 for their performances in Miami and against Hawaii.

Nolan Dunkel and Stephanie Oiesen also earned Utah swimming's first weekly awards of the campaign following the Utes' dual meet against Hawaii. Dunkel took home Men's Newcomer of the Week honors after placing second in the 100 Fly and leading off the gold medal 200 Medley and 200 Free relay squads. Oiesen took second in the 100 Back, placed sixth in the 100 Free and led off the fourth-place 200 Free relay team en route to her first-career Newcomer of the Week nod.

Since joining the Big 12 prior to last season, Utah has claimed 17 weekly awards, 12 of which have come from divers. Petersen leads all Utes with five weekly awards, all Diver of the Week nods.

2025 Ends with Hawaii Sweep
The University of Utah swim and dive program wrapped up the 2025 portion of its schedule with a pair of wins over Hawaii. The men's team improved to a perfect 4-0 record in dual meets with a 165-59 victory behind six event sweeps, while the women of Utah claimed their second win of the campaign, beating the Rainbow Wahine, 126-98.

Erin Palmer paced all Utah swimmers with 18 points thanks to wins in the 50 Free and 100 Breast, while Isabella Riso and Megan Legarth came away with nine points apiece. Nolan Arnholt, Nick Chirafisi, Caleb Gallagher, Strahinja Maslo, Winston Sundeen and Evan VanBrocklin tied for the team lead on the men's side with nine points, each taking home a gold medal.

Utah claimed eight of 12 podium spots on the springboards. Callie Eaglestone swept the women's competition with Kathryn Grant finishing just behind her in second on both boards, and Emilia Nilsson Garip made her season debut with a third-place finish. Elias Petersen logged a pair of top-two results for the men's side.

Utes Sweep Springboard Titles in Miami
Elias Petersen won on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards to lead the men's side against FAU, while Callie Eaglestone and Kathryn Grant both logged a first-place finish to pace the women's team against FIU and Marshall in diving's final split meet of 2025. Utah tallied eight podium finishes across four finals.

Petersen claimed his third 1-meter win of his senior season with a 307.05 list score. Alex Just finished in third place with a 276.95 – his best mark since the season opener – while Attila Bernatsky placed fifth with a 259.35. Petersen earned his second 3-meter win of the season with a 348.30, finishing just ahead of Bernatsky, who placed second with a personal-best 302.70. Tuesday marked the first time the sophomore eclipsed 300 points on the board.

Grant led the way for the Utah women on the 1-meter board and was one of five Utes to finish in the top six. Her 286.30 was enough to claim her second win on the event in as many meets, narrowly beating out Eaglestone's 279.05. Sarah Kauffman placed fourth with a 230.85, her best mark of the season, while the freshman duo of Cierra Cole and Annalise Shrader placed fifth and sixth, respectively, at 218.10 and 212.05.

On the 3-meter springboard, Eaglestone won with a 289.85 while Grant placed second with a 266.35. Shrader came in fourth with a 236.50.

Records Fall in New Jerey
Nine Utah divers earned podium finishes across three days of competition at the Big Al Invitational. The highlight of the weekend was Kathryn Grant's 308.80 to win the women's platform competition, which broke the pool record. Grant had set the pool record at the same event back in 2022, but reclaimed the record after it was broken last year. Her score was the second-best mark in program history and just the third Utah tally over 300 on the event. The senior also claimed the 1-meter title after a setting a personal best in prelims.

Callie Eaglestone logged three top-five finishes on the weekend, placing second on the 1-meter board, third on the 3-meter and fourth on platform. Her 300.15 mark in the 1-meter prelims was the first time she had broken 300 on the board and set the 10th-best score in Utah history.

Elias Petersen led the men's side with a win on the 1-meter, a second-place finish on the 3-meter and a third-place finish on platform.

Medals Aplenty at SMU Invitational
The Utes garnered 21 podium finishes across a successful four days at the SMU Invitational last month, with seven swimmers earning multiple medals.

Ella Derby and Erin Palmer led all Utah Utes with 47 and 46.5 points, respectively, and were the lone Utah swimmers with three podiums. Derby took second in both the 200 and 400 IM and placed third in the 800 Free relay, setting five personal bests and a season best along the way, while Palmer took second in the 100 Breast, third in the 50 Free with a program-record 22.11, and teamed with Derby in the 800 Free relay. Teagan Steinmetz contributed 42 points and Hayley Smith added 31 as the Utah women placed third out of nine teams.

The men of Utah also placed third behind 46 points from Nick Chirafisi and 42 points from Finn Winkler. Chirafisi set the program record in the 200 Free with a 1:33.75 to finish fourth while getting on the podium in both the 500 Free and 800 Free relay. Winkler took second in the 200 IM and third in the 100 Fly while setting 10 personal bests on the weekend.

In total, 34 new top-10 times were set in Dallas. Winkler etched his name in the program record book five times, the most of any Utah Ute on the weekend.

Seniors Shine is Lone Star State
Seniors Kathryn Grant and Elias Petersen powered the Utes at the Texas Diving Invitational to open November, leading Utah in a meet that included six teams ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Grant placed fourth on the 1-meter and fifth on both the 3-meter and platform, the only woman in Austin to finish in the top five on all three events. She tied for first individually with 43 points on the weekend, scoring a 288.15 on the 1-meter, 298.25 on the 3-meter and 249.30 in her first platform competition of the season.

Petersen also led the men's side with three finals appearances. He placed eighth on both the 1- and 3-meter springboards and finished 15th on platform.

Records 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, finishing 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 – the Utes' last non-split meet of the season – 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.

On the diving board, Utah came out on top in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard on the men's and women's side. Elias Petersen made his season debut and took both golds on the men's side, while Callie Eaglestone and Kathryn Grant each logged a win in their first competition of the season.

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.

Attila Bernatsky shined for head diving coach Richard Marschner, winning the men's 3m with a list total of 281.25 and placed second in the 1m. Alex Just placed second in the 3m in his Utah debut as well. Annalise Shrader and Cierra Cole also showed promise in their collegiate debut. Cole finished second in the women's 3m and third in the 1m, while Shrader logged a second-place result in the 1m and placed fourth in the 3m.

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.