ELKHART, Ind. – The Vanderbilt swimming season came to an end Saturday when Kailia Utley completed the last of three races at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship at the Beacon Health Aquatic Center.
The freshman from Huntington Beach, California, placed 36th in preliminary heat in the 200-yard butterfly on the final day of the event. Utley also tied for 42nd place in the 100-yard butterfly on Friday while finishing in 56th in the 50-yard butterfly the previous morning.
“Because this was only about two weeks after the SEC Championships, it was really about developing a strategy that would allow me to be competitive at a meet so soon after a championship event, and I think that is exactly what I accomplished,” Utley said. “We found what worked and what didn’t. Moving forward, I now have a plan for training following the SECs that will be beneficial for meets like this in the future.”
In her first season with the Commodores, Utley set a school record in the 200 butterfly at the SEC Championships last month while also coming within .02 seconds of matching the program’s freshman standard at the Miami Invitational in November.
