Women's Swimming | 3/1/2024 9:52:00 PM

Utah Tech swimming picked up its first medal of the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, which wrapped up day three on Friday night at the Pfarr Natatorium in Pfarr, Texas.

After three days of competition, the Trailblazers stand in seventh place with 176 points, 53 points clear of eighth place Seattle U (123 pts). Northern Arizona remains in the lead with 572.5 points, followed by New Mexico State (378 pts) in second and Grand Canyon (369 pts) in third.
 
Utah Tech reached the podium in the 100-yard backstroke final, where freshman Mary Sims Cross barely edged out her teammate, senior Eleonore Rembert (54.84), by 0.36 seconds to claim the bronze medal with a personal season best time of 54.48. 
 
The Trailblazers also got a top-five overall finish in the 100 breaststroke, with senior Skyler Lyon placing fifth-overall in the "A" final at 1:02.23, which was the fifth-fastest time in that event in program history. Meanwhile, freshman Grace Benson touched the wall seventh in the "B" final with a personal season best time of 1:04.09.
 
In the 100 butterfly finals, freshman Abigail Hill placed third in the 100 butterfly "B" final in a time of 55.83 (#10 all-time at Utah Tech), while senior Danyael Cuison took second in the "C" final with a personal season best time of 56.66. In the 400 IM finals, freshman Kaiya Lawson placed seventh in the "B" final (4:33.42), as did fellow freshman Cera Mallory in the 200 freestyle "B" final (1:52.75). 
 
Utah Tech then closed the night by just missing out on its second podium appearance by 0.55 seconds as the Trailblazers finished fourth in the 400 medley relay (3:42.89 - #4 all-time in Utah Tech history).
 
The final day of competition at the 2024 WAC Championships will begin on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. (CT), with the preliminary heats in the 200 backstroke. The final races will follow on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. (CT), with the championship heats in the 1,650 free.