HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV men's swimming and diving team won an event title and grabbed six medals to close out the MPSF Championships Saturday at City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium.
The Scarlet & Gray ended this year's conference meet with 769.5 points, placing second in the team standings. Air Force won the team title with 819.5 points. The Rebels previously won five straight conference titles which is the second longest streak in the program's history.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Leading the Scarlet & Gray, senior
Ian Belflower won the 200 fly conference title, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships and broke a 35-year-old school record (1:43.45). He bested the previous long-standing record held by former Rebel Bart Pippenger since 1990.
The 100 free saw two Rebels earn podium finishes. Senior Bryson Huey took silver with the sixth-fastest time in school history (43.42) and junior Ambrus Barcsak claimed bronze with the ninth-quickest time in program history (43.51).
The day's medal tally also included silver medals from freshman Kian Keylock in the 200 breast (1:55.37) and senior Tatsuki Inoue in the 200 back (1:42.53), each posting the third-fastest time in school history in their respective events. Additionally, the Rebels' 400 free relay 'A' team also claimed silver with a time of 2:53.13.
QUOTABLE: "Obviously it's disappointing to lose the championship, but I'm proud of how these men fought every session. Huge shout out to Ian for making NCAAs and breaking a 35-year-old school record! It's been a great year and we're looking forward to competing on the national stage."
-UNLV Head Coach Pat Ota
2026 MPSF Swimming & Diving Championships
City of Pharr-PSJA Natatorium
Pharr, Texas
Saturday, February 28
Day Four Results
Team Scoring
1. Air Force – 819.5
2. UNLV – 769.5
3. Wyoming - 726
4. Cal Baptist - 510
5. Pacific - 287
6. Incarnate Word - 195
Top-8 Finishes
200 fly – 1st place – 1:43.45 (Belflower), 4th place – 1:44.83 (Raffel)
100 free – 2nd place – 43.42 (Huey), 3rd place – 43.51 (Barcsak), 7th place – 44.04 (Diermayr), 8th place – 44.06 (Perez)
200 breast – 2nd place – 1:55.37 (Keylock)
200 back – 2nd place – 1:42.53 (Inoue), 6th place – 1:44.99 (Potgieter)
400 free relay – 2nd place – 2:53.13 (Perez, Diermayr, Barcsak, Huey)
1650 free – 7th place – 15:34.69 (Calhoun), 8th place – 15:36.93 (Guerrero)
-UNLV-
