Several Utah swimmers recently competed at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials (June 26- July 3) in Omaha, Neb. There were eight Utes who competed, including one former Ute and two incoming freshmen, who competed at the eight-day meet.
“Trials was a great experience,” said head coach Joe Dykstra. “We had an extremely young group swimming there, and they all gained valuable experience of what it’s like to swim on the biggest stage. That will help them at Pac-12’s, at NCAA’s and in four years at the 2020 Trials.”
On the first day of competition, incoming freshman Cassidy Stein competed in the 400-meter IM and finished 62nd with a 4:55.82. Sixteen spots behind her was soon-to-be sophomore Jordan Anderson, who finished in 78th with a 4:57.22.
Dykstra couldn’t be more excited about Stein’s upcoming season at Utah. She is joining what Dykstra considers to be a talented incoming freshmen class.
“Cassidy had hip surgery last fall, and we weren’t sure if she was even going to be fully recovered before coming here this fall,” Dykstra said. “Her recovery and rehab went better than expected, and not only did she get back to full training and racing, she managed to go best times and qualify for the Trials at a last chance meet.”
The next two days continued to feature swimmers from Utah. On Monday June 27, freshman Daniel McArthur raced in the 100-meter backstroke and placed 58th after touching in at a 56.49, a new personal best. The following day, sophomore Chris Taber finished 69th in the 200-meter butterfly with a 2:03.93.
Alumnus Nick Soedel competed at trials alongside his former team —his last season with the Utes was the 2013-14 season. He swam in the 50- (22.76) and 100-meter freestyle (50.76) events, placing 26th and 62nd, respectively. Incoming freshman Liam O’Haimhirgin also competed in the 100-meter freestyle and finished 84th with a 51.74.
Brandon Shreeve competed in two events, the 200-meter backstroke where he placed 86th with a 2:05.31, and then the 1500-meter freestyle, where he finished 96th with a time of 16:20.15.
On the last day, freshman Gillian St. John competed in the 50-meter freestyle and rounded out Trials with a 26.63 in 137th.
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