Women's Swimming | 11/22/2025 11:47:00 PM

Utah Tech recorded several season bests marks on the final day of competition at the 2025 Trailblazer Invitational on Saturday at the HPC Pool.
 
The Blazers wound up placing seventh overall at the meet with 174.5 points. San Diego State won the eight-team meet with 882.5 points, while UC San Diego scored 761.5 points to claim runner-up honors. 
 
Utah Tech got the night underway with Coco Riding posting the Blazers' top finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle distance race with a 15^th-place time of 17:57.55. Mary Sims Cross followed that with a third place finish in the "C" final of the 200 backstroke with a season-best time of 2:03.79.
 
Meanwhile, Gabby Henry wrapped her solid weekend of competition with sixth-place finish in the 100 free "B" with a 51.21, which was the 10^th-fastest time in Utah Tech history. Earlier in the day, the sophomore clocked the sixth-fastest mark in program history with a 50.99, which bested her previous season-best time at that distance by more than four seconds.
 
In the 200 breast, Cera Mallory was the third swimmer to touch the wall in the "B" final with a time of 2:19.72, while Naomi Nakaya placed third in the 200 fly "C" final with a season PR time of 2:05.65. 
 
In addition, Kiana Hugins clocked the fourth-fastest mark in school history in a 50 butterfly time trial at 26.22, while Marta Valkovska swam the fifth-fastest 50 breast time in program history with a 30.69 time trial result.  
 
The Trailblazers then closed the night with a ninth-place showing in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:26.60, which wound up as the fifth-fastest 400 relay mark at Utah Tech.
 
I am tremendously proud of the progress and growth accomplished by the ladies on this team," Head Coach Shawn King said at the conclusion of the meet. "They inspire me with the energy they bring to practice each day, the caring that they show for each other, and the sacrifices they make to improve. I'm especially grateful for how much each of the athletes have worked to overcome. We have seen them respond to challenge throughout the season, and the performances we saw this weekend are very encouraging. 
 
"Our experienced leaders really anchored our team and helped to establish ourselves at this meet," Coach King added. "The newcomers have brought great depth and speed. This is the fastest sprint freestyle group in school history that has led to the records broken. We are very excited to see what we can accomplish with winter training and the preparation for conference."

Utah Tech returns to action this upcoming Dec. 12-13, with a two-day home dual meet vs. Northern Arizona.