Air Force Academy
BYU
Air Force Falls to BYU in MWC Action
1/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 24, 2008
USAFA, Colo. - In their first meet of the weekend, the Air Force men's and women's swimming and diving teams both dropped a contest to BYU Thursday evening at Cadet Natatorium. The men fell to the 23rd-ranked Cougars by a score of 147.5-93.5, while the women lost a 155-82 contest. The men drop to 3-6 overall, 0-3 in the MWC, while the women are 2-9, 0-6 in the conference.
In the men's competition, junior Justin Day (Peyton, Colo.) led the way for the swimmers with a first-place finish in the 200 breaststroke. Junior Bryan Avery (Mililani, Hawaii) finished second in the 200 free, while T.J. Cowling (Sr., Newport News, Va.) tied for second in the 100 free.
In addition, Nick Dixon (Jr., Canton, Mich.) placed third in the 200 butterfly, Kai Yamashiro (Jr., Kaneohe, Hawaii) took third in the 200 backstroke and Sean O'Keefe (So., Lake Oswego, Ore.) finished third in the 500 free.
For the divers, Kyle Van Valkenburg (So., Tucson, Ariz.) took first-place in both the 1- and 3-meter dives, scoring season-best marks in each event. In the 1-meter dive, Van Valkenburg scored a 291.00, while registering a 298.50, besting his previous season-high by nearly 30 points. Classmate David Arlington (Eagle River, Alaska) also turned in solid performances, finishing second in the 3-meter dive with a season-best score of 294.68 and third in the 1-meter dive.
On the women's side, the team of Kaeli Kluesner (Fr., Denver, Colo.), Jane Hwang (Jr., Irvine, Calif.), Jessica Rodgers (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Kelly Grabarek (Fr., Laguna Niguel, Calif.) turned in a season-best mark of 4:04.74 in the 400 medley relay to finish second in the event.
Hwang recorded the lone top finish for the Air Force women, taking the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:55.39, while also finishing second in the 100 free. Freshmen Betsy Scarberry (Fairborn, Ohio) and Caitlin Teresky (Newtown, Pa.) placed second and third, respectively, in the 1000 free, while Scarberry also finished third in the 500 free.
Kluesner notched a pair of third-place finishes, coming in third in the 200 IM and 200 backstroke, while sophomore Becky Gleason (Ballwin, Mo.) placed third in both the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke. Also registering a top-three finish for the Falcons was Rodgers, who came in third in the 50 free.
The Falcons are back in action Saturday, Jan. 26, when they host Utah in their last home dual of the season. The contest, slated to begin at 1:00 p.m., will be the final home meet for the Air Force seniors.
Players Mentioned
