Utah Utes campus briefs

SWIMMING AND DIVING: The Utes finished up the first day of competition tonight at the Toshiba Classic at Belmont Plaza Olympic pool in Long Beach, Calif.

"The team had a good day. It was a long day, and there was a lot of competition," said head coach Greg Winslow. "We had an athlete in almost every final heat in each event. It's a honor, in this competitive climate, to make it back at night."

The Utah men qualified for the final heat in every event on the day. In the 200 free relay, the team of Bjorn Gunnarsson (Norrkoping, Sweden), Karson Applin (Houston, Texas), Eric Murray (Woodstock, GA) and Jordan Spoerri (West Jordan, Utah) finished in eighth with their time of 1:25.61. Gunnarsson also finished 25th overall in the 50 free with his personal record of 21:50 in the event.

Utah had two final heat qualifiers in the 500 free. Freshmen Bryan Michaels (Shoreline, Wash.) and Ryan Hansen (Schroeder, Wisc.) finished in 19th and 28th, respectively with times of 4:35.76 and 4:37.84. Both times were season highs for the freshmen.

In the 200 IM, senior John Baque (Olympia, Wash.) finished in 21st with his time of 1:54.56, which was also a season high. The Utah men finished the night by taking fifth place in the 400 medley relay with the team of Major Robinson (Missoula, Mont.), Baque, Applin and Gunnarsson in a time of 3:23.84.

"I was really impressed by our men's 400 medley relay team. They came out strong after a long day and had the second-fastest time for the Mountain West Conference teams," said Winslow.

The Utah women had the highest placing individual athlete for the Utes in junior Natalie Edge (South Jordan, Utah). Edge was 16th overall in the 50 free with her time of 23.68. Also in the final heat for the event was fellow junior Kristina Evans (Salt Lake City), who finished in 28th place with a time of 24.10. Both times were season best for the women.

The Utes also had two women in the final heat in the 200 IM. Sophomore Hannah Caron (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior Maiya Otsuka (Littleton, Colo.) were 19th and 28th, respectively, with their times of 2:04.24 and 2:07.15.

The Utah women also finished in the top 10 in both relay events. The 200 free relay team of Edge, Evans, Annie VanLeeuwen (West Valley City) and Chardonnay Biter-Mundt (Napa, Calif.) finished in ninth place with their time of 1:35.74. The 400 medley relay team composed of Beth Gunderson (Portland, Ore.), Otsuka, Caron and Edge got a 10th-place finish in the event with their time of 3:51.69.

"I was most impressed with our relay teams tonight. Both teams got season high times. I also was impressed with both Natalie Edge and Kristina Evans qualifying and getting the times they did in the 50 free," said Winslow. "Overall, we had some really good highlights for the day."

"We'll have a huge day tomorrow. It's probably the biggest day for us, considering the events," continued Winslow. "We can have a really strong showing in these events for both the men and women."

Competition for the Toshiba Classic continues tomorrow. The events for the day include the 200 medley relay, the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and the 800 freestyle relay.