High Five: BYU Men Win Fifth, Hawaii Women Win Fifth Straight MPSF Championships

University of Hawaii Photo Courtesy: MPSF Chamipionships

Hawaii’s women’s team won its fifth consecutive (sixth overall) title at the MPSF Championships that concluded Saturday, while the BYU men’s team claimed its fifth title and first since 2016.

The BYU men put forth a dominant performance, scoring 885.50 points to outdistance Hawaii (750.5) and UC Santa Barbara (627) in the five-team competition. The Cougars won four of five relays, with senior Connor Stirling anchoring all four. Stirling also finished third in the 50 freestyle and second in the 100 butterfly.

Josue Dominguez, who swam on three winning relays, won the 100 breaststroke in an MPSF Championship record 51.81 seconds. He was also second in the 200 breast, with Alec Cullen’s record swim of 1:55.41 required to beat him, the UCSB swimmer breaking his record from 2020. BYU’s Brad Prolo erased the oldest MPSF Championship record on the books in the 200 fly, going 1:44.16 to take down a record that had stood since 2013. Prolo was also second to Dominguez in the 100 breast.

Javier Nicolas, who was on three winning BYU relays, won the 100 fly, 200 individual medley and was second to Prolo in the 200 fly. Roger Woods, winner of the 100 free, lent his speed to two winning BYU relays. Tama Tuitama (second in the 200 IM, second in the 400 IM, third in the 200 back) also supplied big points.

Hawaii’s Tim Gallagher won two events, claiming the 100 back and 200 back. Cal Poly’s Kieran McNulty reigned in the 500 free and 1,650. UCSB’s Dominic Falcon won the 400 IM and was second to McNulty in the 500.

Hawaii won both men’s diving events, with Mason Williams claiming the one-meter and Max Burman the three-meter. Mickey Strauss of BYU was second in both, and Williams grabbed bronze on the higher board.

On the women’s side, Hawaii defended its title behind three relay wins, with Anna Kotonen and Lucia Lassman swimming on each. Kotonen also won the 100 free to augment silver medals in the 100 breast and 50 free. Anna Friedrich, a member of two victorious relays, won the 200 back and added top-four finishes in the 200 free and 500 free. Katie Strachan was second in the 200 breast and 400 IM.

The outstanding swimmer of the meet was BYU’s Katie McBratney, who won five races. She was the winner in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM, the first two in MPSF Championship record times. She was also on both winning relays along with Gwen Gustafson (winner of the 50 free, 200 free and runner-up in the 100 free) and Brynn Sproul (second in the 100 back, third in the 200 back).

UC Davis’ Mia Motekaitis won the 500 and was second in the 200 free as it finished third.

UCSB was fourth with plenty of podium performances. Maelynn Lawrence won the 1,650 and 200 fly and was second in the 500 free. Dani Carter, winner of the 100 back, was second in the 200 back and third in the 100 fly.

MPSF Championship Team Scores

Men

Brigham Young 885.5
University of Hawaii 750.5
UC Santa Barbara 627
Cal Poly 547.5
University of the Pacific 264.5

Women

University of Hawaii 794.5
Brigham Young University 727.5
University of California, Davis 575
UC Santa Barbara 530
Cal Poly 322
University of the Pacific 194
University of San Diego 159

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