Women's Swimming | 12/17/2024 2:23:00 PM

Utah Tech will close out the 2024 portion of its competition season with a home dual meet vs. New Mexico State at the HPC Pool this Thursday afternoon. The first event of the two-team dual will get off the blocks at 4 p.m. (MT).
            Thursday's meet will mark the first time that the Trailblazers and Aggies have competed against each other in a two-team dual. 
 
COACHING STAFF: Utah Tech alumnus Shawn King is in his second season as head coach of the Trailblazer program.   
        In his first season poolside at Utah Tech, he guided the team to its second fastest season in school history, breaking seven school records, while collecting three All-WAC honors. In addition, the Trailblazers combined to post 75% life best times in competed events during the season.
Utah Tech also performed in the classroom, as the team earned CSCAA Division I Scholar All-America honors with a cumulative 3.79 GPA.
        Coach King is joined poolside by second-year assistant coach Colby Clark.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers came away with six event wins in their two-day dual at Northern Arizona this past Dec. 6-7, in Flagstaff. 
        On day one, Grace Benson posted the team's first race win of the meet in the 100-yard individual medley, touching the wall in an altitude-adjust time of 59.42 (#4 all-time at Utah Tech. Jordan Musselman also clocked a top-10, all-time program mark in that event with a second-place 1:00.30 (altitude adjusted; #5 all-time at Utah Tech).
        Meanwhile, Cera Mallory raced to a runner-up finish in the 200 breast with a time of 2:18.55 (team season best; altitude adjusted), as did Mary Sims Cross in the 200 back with a 2:02.95 (altitude adjusted).
Utah Tech's "A" team of Benson, Gabby Henry, Natalia Zmierczak and Mandy Farnum combined to close day one with a victory in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:37.07.
        Day two saw the Blazers claim four more victories, with Cera Mallory notching the Blazers' first race win of the day in the 200-yard freestyle with an altitude-adjusted time of 1:53.77. She later posted a runner-up showing later in the 500 free (5:05.87 – altitude adjusted).  
        Benson followed that up with her second win of the weekend as she beat out Sims Cross (58.82 – altitude adjusted) by 0.16 seconds to win the 100 back at 58.66 (altitude adjusted).
        In the final individual race of the meet, the 200 IM, Allie Hayes picked up the win after she touched the wall in 2:15.38 (altitude adjusted).
        Then in the final race of the day, the team of Benson, Mallory, Zmierczak and Farnum won the 400 free relay with a time of 3:34.11 (altitude adjusted). 

TRAILBLAZERS IN THE WAC: Utah Tech owns several top-25 WAC individual marks heading into the halfway point of the 2024-25 regular season.
50 Free
T-6. Mandy Farnum – 23.45 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
100 Free
22. Mandy Farnum – 51.90 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
200 Free
11. Cera Mallory – 1:51.17 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
500 Free
11. Cera Mallory – 4:58.70 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
1,000 Free
7.  Cera Mallory – 10:19.76 (at Pepperdine Rodionoff Inv'l)
26. Kaiya Lawson – 10:54.09 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
1,650 Free
10. Cera Mallory – 17:21.26 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
19. Kaiya Lawson – 17:55.32 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
50 Back
5. Mary Sims Cross – 26.15 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
22. Dani Cannon – 27.10 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
100 Back
1. Mary Sims Cross – 55.00 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)

200 Back
12. Mary Sims Cross – 2:02.89 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
19. Dani Cannon – 2:05.46 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
50 Breast
19. Grace Benson – 30.44 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
21. Yara Olsen – 30.53 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
100 Breast
11. Yara Olsen – 1:03.88 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
17. Grace Benson – 1:04.85 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
24. Alyssa Gordon – 1:05.54 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
200 Breast
12. Yara Olsen – 2:19.28 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
15. Alyssa Gordon – 2:19.78 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
50 Fly
19. Gabby Henry – 26.19 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
21. Mandy Farnum – 26.31 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
100 Fly
16. Gabby Henry – 55.96 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
20. Mandy Farnum – 56.35 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l) 
 
200 Fly
12. Gabby Henry – 2:05.87 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
14. Kam Swanson – 2:06.06 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
200 IM
13. Allie Hayes – 2:06.31 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
400 IM
14. Allie Hayes – 4:32.67 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
15. Alyssa Gordon – 4:33.46 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
21. Kaiya Lawson – 4:34.37 (at Utah Tech Trailblazer Inv'l)
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech begins the 2025 calendar year with a trip to the Palouse for pair of January dual meets. The Trailblazers open the trip with a two-team dual at Washington State on Friday, Jan. 17, before heading across the border to Moscow for a two-team dual at Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 18.