University of Utah
Big 12 Conference Championships
Strong Showing Lifts Utah on Day Two of Big 12 Championships
2/25/2026 7:19 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Chirafisi, VanBrocklin win gold to propel Utes
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Utah swim and dive team claimed a pair of gold medals and logged eight top-four finishes in championship finals at the second day of the 2026 Big 12 Conference Championships on Wednesday.
After two days inside the Greensboro Aquatic Center, Utah's men's team sits in second place out of seven teams with 473 points while the women's side sits in fourth out of 10 teams with 288 points.
Nick Chirafisi and Evan VanBrocklin claimed Utah's two gold medals, with the former touching the wall first in the men's 500 Free to claim the program record before the latter stood atop the podium in the 200 IM thanks to a new personal best. Jones Lambert also won a silver medal thanks to a second-place result behind Chirafisi in the 500 Free.
Erin Palmer came in fourth in the women's 50 Free, the best result by a Utah women's swimmer on the day.
We had a really good session on the men's side and I am extremely proud of how we executed and how we were able to get up and get some really nice wins, head coach Jonas Persson said. A lot of the guys took care of business this morning and made it into the final in the afternoon and scored major points. We had a decent day on the women's side and made some nice swims this morning to make it back for finals. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow morning and have a lot of girls make it back and keep moving up in the rankings.
On the boards, Utah continued to build off it's momentum from Tuesday night's team event wins. Emilia Nilsson Garip, Kathryn Grant and Callie Eaglestone took second, third and fourth on the women's 1-meter springboard while Elias Petersen closed down the night with a silver medal on 1-meter thanks to a new personal best.
We continue to just light the boards on fire here, it's been really fun to watch, head diving coach Richard Marschner said. From Cierra Cole moving up about 30 places from her seeding, to Kathryn, Callie and Emilia going two-three-four, and the nightcap with Elias pushing for that conference title right to the end, what an exciting evening. You can't ask for anything more from a team. I'm thrilled that it's coming together for them, and the belief that they're showing in themselves and each other is really what it's all about. I think we've got another great day ahead of us tomorrow and we're going to continue this momentum throughout.
The divers were phenomenal, Persson added. I could not be more proud and I'm very happy with how Richard is coaching them.
Prelims
Utah had 25 student-athletes advance out of prelims and into finals on Wednesday.
- Seven Utah men qualified for finals in the 500 Free. Chirafisi (4:17.74), Lambert (4:20.04) and Nolan Arnholt (4:20.31), made championship finals, Oskar Farkas (4:23.39) qualified for consolation finals, and Owen Carlsen (4:25.19), Quinn Jones (4:25.45) and Jakub Walter (4:27.57) reached bonus finals.
- Farkas won his heat in the 500 Free and set a new personal best. Jones also clocked a new collegiate best.
- Hayley Smith was the lone Utah Ute to reach finals in the women's race, placing 11th overall with a 4:51.87 to make consolation finals.
- Nine total Utes qualified in the 200 IM, with four making championship finals. VanBrocklin (1:44.92), Finn Winkler (1:44.97), Strahinja Maslo (1:45.32) and Durgan McKean (1:45.70) took four of the top-eght times. Matthew Sexton (1:46.19), Cole Bettis (1:47.30) and Caleb Gallagher (1:47.33) qualified for consolation finals. Kelson Flynn (1:47.79) reached the men's bonus finals Teagan Steinmetz (2:02.74) did the same, the lone Utah woman to advance out of prelims in the event.
- Palmer finished third overall in the 50 Free, qualifying for championship finals with a 22.18. On the men's side, Davis Stachelek (20.06) and Tim Rogersson (20.13) both reached bonus finals.
- On the diving boards, six Utes advanced out of prelims. Grant led the Utah women with a 305.60 to finish second on 1-meter, while Eaglestone (285.00) and Nilsson Garip (280.00) took fifth and sixth, respectively. Cole used a 249.20 to place 11th, qualifying for consolation finals.
- On the men's 3-meter, Petersen placed third with a 393.05 list score to reach championship finals, while Attila Bernatsky logged a 290.85 total to place 14th and advance to consolation finals.
Finals
Utah walked away with a pair of gold medals and eight top-four finishes in championship finals.
- Chirafisi and Lambert finished one-two in the 500 Free, clocking times of 4:13.48 and 4:15.70, respectively. Chirafisi's time is the fastest by a Ute in history, while Lambert currently sits third all-time in the event. Arnholt finished eighth in finals with a 4:21.57.
- Smith placed fifth in the consolation finals on the women's side of the 500 Free with a 4:51.49, while Farkas came in sixth in consolation finals with a 4:22.37 for the men.
- VanBrocklin paced the field in the 200 IM with a 1:43.80, setting a new personal best and the second fastest mark by a Ute. Maslo and Winkler finished sixth and seventh in the championship final with times of 1:44.92 and 1:44.99, with Maslo's mark also setting a new PB.
- Four Utes raced in the 200 IM consolation finals – McKean finished second at 1:45.57, Sexton came fourth at 1:46.11, Gallagher finished sixth with a 1:46.78, and Bettis placed eighth at 1:47.63.
- Palmer bested her prelim time by one hundredth of a second, clocking a 22.17 for fourth place.
- Nilsson Garip led the Utes on the 1-meter board, posting a 303.95 list score. Grant took bronze with a 301.20 and Eaglestone finished fourth with a 297.95. Cole logged a 232.25 in to place seventh in consolation finals.
- Petersen upped his personal best with a stunning 425.30 list score, the fourth best by a Ute on the 3-meter board, and finished just two points out of first place. Bernatsky placed sixth in the consolation finals with a 286.00.
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.
