Utah Utes campus briefs

SWIMMING/DIVING: The Utes continued to have the best times of their season this weekend at the Toshiba Classic in Long Beach, Calif. Utah qualified swimmers in all events on the day, having two athletes finish in the top ten.

"We have seen some great swims today. The team continues to make a lot of improvements," said head coach Greg Winslow. "They are taking the mentality that they have to go out and get it. We're really excited about that."

The Utes had three men qualify for the finals in two events on the second day of competition. Sophomores Eric Bonicelli (Overland Park, Kan.) and Eric Murray (Woodstock, GA) along with senior David Pursley (Edmonton, Canada) qualified for the 400 IM final heat, finishing 13th (4:04.64), 14th (4:05.34) and 15th (4:09.38), respectively. All times were season highs for the men.

In the 100 breast, senior John Baque (Olympia, Wash.) was 13th overall with a time of 57.36. Freshman Karson Applin (Houston, Texas) finished 15th in 57.52 and senior Garrett Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) was 20th in 58.56.

Applin also had the highest finish for the Utes so far this weekend, finishing eighth in the 100 fly in 50.14. Applin's finish was also the highest for a Mountain West Conference athlete in the event.

Freshman Bryan Michaels (Shoreline, Wash.) and Murray finished 24th and 32nd, respectively, in the 200 free with times of 1:43.21 and 1:44.98. Sophomore Major Robinson (Missoula, Mont.) had the second-highest finish for the Utah men, finishing 11th overall in the 100 back with his time of 52.10. Freshman Austin Fiascone (Hinsdale, Ill.) also was in the finals in the 100 back, finishing 26th with a time of 54.10.

The Ute relay teams both finished in seventh on the day. The 200 medley relay team of Robinson, Baque, Applin and Bjorn Gunnarsson (Norrkoping, Sweden) finished in 1:34.42 and the 800 free relay team of Michaels, Pursley, Ryan Hansen (Schroeder, Wis.) and Bonicelli finished in 6:55.80.

"Having three guys in the finals heat is awesome for the men," said Winslow. "It is fun to see those guys get up and take pride in their race."

The Utah women also had three women qualify for the final heat in the 400 IM. Junior Maiya Otsuka (Littleton, Colo.) had the highest finish for the Utes in 17th with a time of 4:27.87. Behind her was freshman Kayla Buck (Folsom, Calif.) in 23rd with a time of 4:34.70 and senior Kristina Helmers (Pennington, N.J.) was 26th with a time of 4:32.95.

"Kayla Buck got a great 400 IM today," said Winslow. "Her time was in the Utah all-time top 10"