A sigh of relief may be in order, because that was a close one.

The WSU swimming team overcame a 32-point deficit to beat the University of Utah this Saturday. The Cougars finished out the day four points ahead of the Utes at 149-145.

“It was a good meet for us today,” Head Coach Tom Jager said. “We swam tough all day and finished strong.”

The dual meet in Salt Lake City was the last regular meet of the Cougars season. WSU’s main focus now will be set on preparing for the Pac 12 Championships that will take place Feb. 24-27 in Federal Way, Washington.

“We are proud of our season so far and excited about laying all on the line at conference.” Jager said.

The meet kicked off with a Utes win in the 200-meter medley relay. The Cougars claimed their first win in the second race, which was the 1000-meter free. Junior Kendra Griffin earned it for WSU coming in at 10:30.11.

Griffin also claimed two second place finishes in both the 200-meter fly and the 500-meter free.

Junior Addisynn Bursch and freshman Jasmine Margetts earned the next two wins for the Cougars. Bursch finished the 200-meter free first touching the wall at 1:52.07 and Margetts claimed the 100-meter back at 56.26.

The Utes came back during the 100-meter breast to earn their second win of the day. Utah secured the first three spots, led by junior Stina Colleou. WSU senior Presley Wetterstrom came in fourth at 1:05.25.

Utah gained more momentum in the 200-meter and 100-meter free earing the first two spots in both events.

The following races were back and forth from then on, WSU winning followed by a Utah win which then in turn was followed by another Cougar win.

The meet ultimately came down to the final event of the day, which was the 400-meter freestyle relay. Utah claimed the victory but the second and third place finish was all the Cougars needed to push them ahead of the Utes in overall points.

The Cougars will not shift their focus to the conference championships that will finish out their successful year.

Reporting by Payton Dineen