Senior Elias Petersen earned all-America honors on the 1-meter springboard at the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships, according to a Mar. 26 announcement from Utah Utes Men’s Swimming & Diving. The event took place Thursday inside the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
Petersen qualified for the evening session by scoring 352.90 in preliminaries, which was the sixth best mark in the field. He finished seventh overall with a score of 354.80 in finals, earning all-America recognition on the 1-meter for a second consecutive season.
Earlier this season, Petersen won on the 1-meter at the Big 12 Championships and placed second in that event at the NCAA Zone E Championships.
Other team members also competed during Thursday’s prelims. Nick Chirafisi recorded a time of 1:34.35 in the 200 Free to finish in 44th place, while Evan VanBrocklin finished with a time of 46.40 in the 100 Fly to take home 39th place.
“It was a great morning of swims for these guys,” head coach Jonas Persson said.
Chirafisi also participated Wednesday night in the 1650 Free, achieving a personal-best time of 14:51.53 and finishing twentieth nationally.
“Nick was phenomenal yesterday,” Persson added. “He swam a personal best and moved up a few spots, that’s all you can ask for at this meet and he’ll be in a position to score next year. He’s got arguably his best event tomorrow, which is exciting, and Evan is gearing up for his on Saturday.”
Looking ahead, Petersen will compete on three-meter springboard while Chirafisi will race in the 500 Free on Friday; VanBrocklin is set to swim both the 200 Fly and two-hundred individual medley events Saturday.
