Utah Picks Up Points on Penultimate Day of Big 12 Championships

Friday, February 27

Greensboro, NC

All Day

University of Utah

Big 12 Conference Championships - Day 4

Swimming and Diving during the 2026 Big12 Swimming and Diving Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Thursday February 26th, 2026 (Photo by Kara Durrette/Big 12 Conference)

Photo by: Photo by Kara Durrette/Big 12 Conference

Utah Picks Up Points on Penultimate Day of Big 12 Championships

2/27/2026 7:21 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

17 Utes advanced out of prelims on Friday as team race narrows

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Utah swim and dive program picked up valuable points in the team competition on the fourth day of the Big 12 Conference Championships on Friday.

With just one day of competition remaining inside the Greensboro Aquatic Center, Utah's men's team sits in third place out of seven teams with 1058 points while the women's side sits in seventh out of 10 teams with 530 points, less than 100 points outside of fourth.

Jakub Walter and Evan VanBrocklin led the Utah swimmers on the day, finishing fourth and fifth in the men's 200 Fly. Sydney Even put together the best showing by a Utah woman, reaching consolation finals in the women's 200 Fly.

"We had a decent day today," head coach Jonas Persson said. "It's tough in the sense that we are getting tired, but we pulled through this morning with some good swims and improved this afternoon. I am happy with the team and excited for tomorrow."

In the lone diving event of the day, Elias Petersen reached his third final in as many days, placing sixth on men's platform. The senior won gold on 1-meter and took second on 3-meter earlier this week.

"The men continued their really strong showing," head diving coach Richard Marschner said. "I'm glad Alex Just did well and got into B-final, he showed off his back twister again and nailed it two more times. I can't say enough about Elias – three even finalists, he came through clutch here in finals and helped him move up a few spots. I'm really proud of the men's performance as a whole, I think we really exceeded expectations. Any time you score more than you should on paper, it's a good thing, so I'm really looking forward to zones and women's platform tomorrow."

Prelims
17 Utes advanced to finals following Friday's preliminary rounds.

Sydney Even reached consolation finals in the women's 200 Fly with a 2:02.28, finishing 16th overall.
In the men's race, Evan VanBrocklin continued his stellar week in North Carolina with the fourth-quickest time, a 1:44.81 to reach championship finals. Joining him was Jakub Walter, whose 1:45.16 was the sixth fastest in the field. Kelson Flynn advanced to bonus finals with a 1:48.37.
Erin Palmer and Rylee McColley both made bonus finals in the 100 Breast, going 1:02.04 and 1:02.53, respectively.
A pair of Utes also advanced out of prelims in the men's race. Caleb Gallagher (53.74) and Durgan McKean (54.01) both made consolation finals after finishing 11th and 16th, respectively.
The 100 Back proved to be Utah's best event in the morning session as seven total Utes advanced out of prelims. Nolan Dunkel led the way with a 46.13, the third fastest time in the field, to make championship finals, while Nash Hale (46.86), Finn Winkler (47.17) and Winston Sundeen (47.41) all qualified for consolation finals. The senior pair of Jackson Kehler and Brandon Miller made bonus finals, going 47.64 and 48.28, respectively, while Megan Legarth was the lone qualifier on the women's side, also making bonus finals with a 55.47.
In the lone diving event of the day, Elias Petersen led the way for the Utah men, finishing sixth overall with a 299.90 list score on platform to reach his third championship final. Alex Just, Utah's hero on platform in Tuesday's team event competition, qualified for consolation finals with a 277.70.

Finals
Utah failed to pick up a medal in championship finals but still contributed valuable points to the team totals.

Walter and VanBrocklin finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200 Fly championship finals, touching in 1:43.94 and 1:44.34.
Even clocked a 2:01.12 in the women's consolation finals, the fifth-fastest time in the heat.
Rylee McColley took fourth in the bonus finals of the 100 Breast, touching the wall in 1:02.13.
McKean placed fourth in consolation finals in the men's race at 54.01 and Gallagher finished four spots behind him at 54.15.
Legarth finished seventh in bonus finals of the 100 Back, touching in 55.45.
Dunkel touched the wall third in the men's 100 Back championship finals but was ultimately disqualified. Hale and Winkler finished 14th and 15th, clocking in at 47.20 and 47.49, respectively, while Sundeen finished 16th in 47.73.
Petersen came in sixth in championship finals with a 331.05 list score and Just finished seventh in consolation finals with a 240.50 total.

Stay Connected
Fans can follow along on social media (X: @UTAHswimdive | Instagram: @utahswimdive | Facebook: FB.com/UtahUtesSwimDive), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.