While the Utes prepare for their conference meets this week and the next, they can’t help but look back on last year’s result. As both meets came to an end, both the men’s (283) and women’s (652) teams walked away placing fifth and sixth in the championship meet, respectively. This year, the team is hoping for more.
Though Utah placed lower in the final results than it wanted, some on the team hold high goals for themselves. Sophomore Paul Ungur will be racing at the Pac-12 Championships for the first time in his rookie season, but that’s not stopping him from setting the bar high.
“I hope to make finals and break some school records, hopefully in the 100-yard backstroke,” Ungur said. “Those are first and foremost, but I would also like to make some NCAA cuts.”
While Ungur will be making his first appearance in Federal Way, Wash., there are others on the team who are looking to improve from a successful 2015 meet, as well as a promising campaign in the new year.
“I think that we can actually surprise ourselves and swim a lot faster than we think,” said junior Stina Colleou. “That’s what I’ve been hoping for both my team and myself. I feel like since we have come so much together as a team, we have really stepped up this year, and I feel like the training we have put down has been really great. My goal is obviously to get NCAA cuts, but I feel like I’m ready to swim fast at Pac-12’s this week.”
Last year, Utah women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the Pac-12 Championships at the King County Aquatic Center, and though the Utes placed sixth, they had some incredible swims throughout the meet.
The first night was the highlight of the meet, as the team of sophomore Shayla Archer, Colleou, graduate Melissa Paakh and graduate Maddie Jamora finished fifth with a time of 1:39.36, setting a new school record in the 200-yard medley relay. As the meet continued, another school record was broken by graduate Amanda Barrett in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.52), breaking her own record.
For the men’s team, it competed in the same meet one week later, but the male swimmers also saw a great deal of success in their fifth-place finish.
Just like the women, a new school record was set by the men in the 200-yard medley relay, including sophomore Brandon Deckard, sophomore Jack Burton, graduate Alex Fernandes and graduate Nick Soedel, finishing sixth with a time of 1:27.18. Soedel also broke his own record as well in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:34.53, while his teammate, current senior Bence Király, competed in the 500-yard freestyle, breaking his own record with a 4:14.67.
With all of this previous history at the Pac-12 Championships, where current and former Utes swam some of their best times of the season, head coach Joe Dykstra has only one thing on his mind.
“National qualifiers,” Dykstra said. “It’s the name of the game. We want to place as well as we can and as a team, but the most important thing is national qualifiers. We only have one right now; [Stina] Colleou has gone fast enough to get it the meet already, but we need more.”
The women’s swimming and diving teams will begin its meet this Wednesday (Feb. 24), while the men’s team will begin the following week, starting on Mar. 2.
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