LONG BEACH, Calif. - The men’s and women’s swimming teams returned from the Arena Invitational this weekend with a strong showing. The men’s team finished in fifth place with 641 points and the women’s team finished in seventh with 466 against some of the top teams in the country.

“I thought our entire team swam really well,” head coach John Brooks said. “Many swam personal best and season best times. There were a variety of teams there and we were able to see a big improvement from last year. It was a break-through meet for our women’s team and I was really proud of all our relay teams.”

THURSDAY

In the first event of the weekend, both the men’s and the women’s 200 free relay made the finals. The women’s team of Taryn Toolson Lewis, Hailey Campbell, Alexandria Sorensen and Andrea Grant took seventh with a time of 1:33.66. The men’s team of Jordan Fletcher, Brent Murray, Payton Sorenson and Garret Beaman took second with a time of 1:20.48. Their time set a new school record.

Hayden Palmer and Preston Jenkins both made the finals in the 200 IM. Palmer finished in seventh with a time of 1:51.18 and Jenkins finished eighth with a time of 1:52.20.  

The men’s 400 medley relay team took second place in the final event of the day. The team consisting of Jenkins, Brady Wells, David Armstrong and Murray finished behind Stanford with a time of 3:16.81.

Following the first day of action, the men’s team was in third place with 229 points and the women’s team was in sixth with 152 points.

FRIDAY

Friday began very similar to Thursday. In the 200 medley relay, the women’s team of Campbell, Kimberly Welch Doroghian, Kassandra Bispo and Sorensen to seventh with a time of 1:43.37. The men’s team of Jenkins, Wells, Armstrong, and Murray took second with a time of 1:28.49.

Following the relay, the Cougars had both a swimmer in both the men’s and women’s final of the 400 IM. Alexandra Dodds placed eighth in with a time of 4:23.38 and Palmer took sixth with a time of 3:55.73.

Bispo and Wells both made the finals in the 100 breast. Bispo finished in seventh place with a time of 1:03.64 and Wells finished fifth with a time of 55.93.

In the next event, the 100 back, BYU had two swimmers make the finals. Campbell finished in eighth place with a time of 55.98. Jenkins finished in second place with a time of 47.86, qualifying with a b-cut time.

In the final event of the day, the men’s and women’s 800 free relay teams both finished eighth. The women’s team of Dodds, Alia Welsh, Angela Bennion and Natalie Bennion touched the wall at 7:30.71, and the men’s team of Stott Bushnell, Robert Miner, Samuel Bates and Jenkins finished with a time of 6:47.26.

After Friday’s events, the women’s team was in seventh place with 349 points and the men’s team was in fourth with 478 points.

SATURDAY

Londyn Clawson was the only individual swimmer to make a final on Saturday. Clawson took fourth in the 200 breast with a time of 2:16.12.

The men’s 400 free relay team finished second. The team consisting of Jenkins, Armstrong, Beaman and Murray finished with a time of 2:59.84.

BYU’s next meet is Dec. 8 in the Deseret First Duel against the University of Utah at 5 p.m. MST at the Ute Natatorium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

PROVO, UTAH –After a week of training, the swimming team and diving teams will split up this weekend and travel to different meets. The swimming teams will participate in the Arena Invitational Nov. 15-17 and the diving teams will participate in the Wildcat Diving Invite Nov. 16-17.

SWIMMING

Preston Jenkins and Kimberly Welch Doroghian look to lead the men’s and women’s swimming teams at the Arena Invitational in Long Beach, Calif. 

“We are excited that the format will be championship style with finals and a little rest in between races,” head coach John Brooks said. “We will be swimming against some fast teams and some of the best swimmers in the country. It will be a great experience for us.”

Last year the men’s team finished eighth, scoring 424 points and the women’s team finished ninth, scoring 462 points. Joining them at the meet will be fellow MPSF conference opponents Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount, Hawaii, Air Force, UCSB, UCD and CSUB.

So far this season, the Cougars have four swimmers who have had two or more first-place finishes on the season. Jenkins leads the team with five, Hayden Palmer has three and Hailey Campbell and Doroghian both have two.

Five swimmers also have top times in the MPSF conference this season. For the women, Campbell has the top time in the 200 back, Alexandria Sorensen has the top time in the 50 free. On the men’s side, Palmer has the top time in the 400 IM, Brady Wells has the top time in the 100 breast and Brent Murray has the top time in the 50 free. The men’s 200 free relay team consisting of Garret Beaman, Wells, Payton Sorenson and Murray also hold the top time in the conference.

Check the meet homepage for more information about the meet. Check here for live results.

DIVING

Nicholas Suder and Dayna Christensen will lead the divers in the Wildcat Invitational hosted by the University of Arizona. The Wildcat Diving Invitational will take place at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.

Joining the divers at the meet will be fellow MPSF conference opponent UNLV.

Last year at the meet, Christensen took second in the 3-m against some of the top divers in the country and looks to build on that success this year. 

Suder has won every diving event this year in dual meets for the Cougars. He swept the 3-m and the 1-m against Hawaii and UNLV. Edward Young took third in both events at Hawaii and second in the 1-m against UNLV. For the women, Christensen took first in the 3-m against UNLV and against Hawaii. Raleigh Williams Taylor took second in the 3-m and third in the 1-m against UNLV.

Check on the men’s schedule page for results of both meets.