Women's Swimming | 11/15/2022 8:27:00 PM

Utah Tech will close out the 2022 team portion of its season slate by hosting the Second-Annual Trailblazer Invitational, which will be held this Thursday-through Saturday at the UT HPC Pool. Live streaming for all three days will be available online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.
 
The meet will begin each day with morning preliminary sessions at 10 a.m., followed by evening finals sessions at 5 p.m. The Trailblazers will swim against BYU, Northern Colorado, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Fresno State, Nevada, Pepperdine, Cal Poly and Pacific. In addition, BYU, UCSD, UCSB, Cal Poly and Pacific will compete in a five-team men's dual meet.
 
UT COACHING STAFF: Dan Kesler is in his second season as head coach of the Utah Tech women's swimming program. 
Coach Kesler came to St. George after two years as associate head men's and women's swimming coach at Florida State. While at FSU, he worked with the middle distance and stroke groups, and helped lead both Seminole programs to fifth-place finishes at the ACC Championships last spring.
            Prior to his time in Tallahassee, he had a seven-year stint as an assistant coach at Arizona State (2012-19), where he worked with the distance and middle distance groups while serving as the recruiting coordinator. Kesler spent his final four years working under FSU alum Bob Bowman – who is best known for coaching the most decorated Olympian of all-time, Michael Phelps.
            Kesler began his collegiate coaching career at Division II Wingate University, at which he served five years as the top assistant men's and women's swimming coach overseeing the mid-distance and distance swimmers. Kesler also served on the NCAA D-II top-25 poll selection committee for the 2011-2012 season. While at Wingate, he helped lead the men's team to five-straight Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship titles, and to several top-six finishes at the NCAA Division II national championship meets.
            Following a stellar high school career, Kesler swam collegiately at North Carolina State from 2000-03, where he served as team captain as a junior and was an ACC finalist in the distance events.
            A native of Westminster, Md., Kesler was also a 2000 Olympic Trials qualifier while representing Green Terror (MD) Aquatic Club.
            Coach Kesler is joined poolside by first-year assistant coach Hailey Garlich.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech broke one school record and claimed three event victories in a dual meet at San Diego State back on Nov. 5. 
            Junior Ginevra Molino got the Trailblazers off to a great start in the first individual event of the meet as she broke the school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle by more than five seconds with an event winning time of 10:22.00. Molino also placed second in the 200 IM later in the morning with a season-best time of 2:08.38.
            Freshman Lily Magda posted her second 500 free race victory in as many meets as she touched the wall first in a season-best time of 5:07.36. Magda, who also placed second in the 1,000 free (10:28.00; #3 all-time at UT), paced the Blazers in the 500 as UT swept the top three spots overall, with sophomore Paulina Sansores (5:10.71) and junior Gabbie Adams (5:25.88) placing second and third, respectively.
            Junior Pia Murray also won the 200 back for the second-straight meet by clocking the second-fastest event time in program history with a 2:02.25. Murray also posted UT's fifth-fastest mark in the 100 back with a runner-up time of 56.74.
In addition, sophomore Reese Hazan recorded the third-fastest time in the 200 fly in UT history with a third-place 2:08.09, while junior Skyler Lyon placed second in the 100 breast (1:04.56), and freshman Ikea Losey touched the wall second in the 100 fly (57.46).
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Several members of the Trailblazer team will head to Greensboro, N.C., to compete at the 2022 USA Swimming Toyota U.S. Open. The four-day meet will be held at the Greensboro Aquatics Center.