Utah Tech swimmers shatter 17 school records at Trailblazer Invitational

ST. GEORGE — The Utah Tech Trailblazers broke seven school records on Saturday, the final day of competition at the 2022 Trailblazer Invitational.

And over the three-day meet, Blazer swimmers broke 17 school records.

“So many school records fell this weekend – I lost count,” Trailblazer coach Dan Kesler said. “This is what we trained for and we have several swimmers that will be representing Utah Tech in this year’s U.S. Open.”

On Saturday, Utah Tech junior Pia Murray, sophomore Ally Boynton and junior Eleonore Rembert dominated the 200 backstroke event. Murray claimed the event in 1 minute, 55.99 seconds, while Boynton came in second at 1:56.56, the second fastest time in the program’s history. Rembert placed fifth overall in the “A” final with a 1:59.80 in the event.

“I trained especially for this race,” Boynton said. “It was everything I’ve wanted right there.”

Kesler said he couldn’t be more proud of his program, as a team, and their progress as a whole.

The Utah Tech Trailblazers hosted 11 schools on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, for the Trailblazer Invitational in St. George, Utah | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

“We have so many leaders on this team, and so many who inspire others,” said an emotional Kesler. “I just can’t stop smiling tonight because they earned this.”

The Blazers placed fourth out of 11 schools competing with 416 points, 28 points behind Northern Colorado. UC-San Diego won the meet with 748 points, while UC-Santa Barbara scored 681 for second place.

Utah Tech broke four records on the first day of the Trailblazer Invitational, and another six on the second day, before breaking another seven on the final day.

On Friday, junior Ginevra Molino got into the act as she broke, then re-broke the school’s 400 IM standard, doing so first with a 4:23.89 preliminary time. She then followed that up with a runner-up time of 4:21.69 in the “A” final.   

In addition, freshman Ikea Losey posted a runner-up finish in the “A” final of the 200 free with a 1:50.08, while fellow freshman Natalia Zmierczak placed second in the “B” final at 1:52.35. Junior Skyler Lyon would follow with a runner-up showing in the 100 breast “B” final at 1:03.29.

Several Utah Tech Trailblazers are currently on their way to Greensboro, N.C. to compete at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships, a four-day competition to be held Nov. 30-Dec. 3 at the Greensboro Aquatics Center.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!