Sprinters Highlight Little Rock Performances at Two-Day Tri-Meet

LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming team hosted Air Force and Tulane in a back-to-back tri meet this weekend, falling to both opponents. However, several Trojans stepped up during the challenging two-day competition, highlighted by victories in the freestyle relays as well as freshman Jaelle Carlson's trio of individual wins.
 
DAY ONE RESULTS | DAY TWO RESULTS
 
"What a great weekend to kick off our dual meets," said head coach Amy Burgess. "We were so honored to host and compete against Air Force and Tulane. It was a great opportunity to step up our competition and raise the bar."

"Watching the sprint group step up in a big way is inspiring," Coach Burgess added. "Jaelle is showing everyone where Little Rock Swimming is headed!"
 
Relays
The freestyle relays concluded each day of swimming, with both meets capped off with an exciting win by the Trojans. The A relay of Carlson, graduate student Lauren Gray, junior Asmalia Redzuan and junior Annya Grom turned in a time of 3:31.00 in the 400 freestyle relay on Friday, winning but nearly a second. The Trojans and Tulane were neck-and-neck at the 300 mark, with Grom splitting a blistering 51.98 to win it.

On Saturday, the same squad threw down a time of 1:35.99 in the 200 freestyle relay to out-touch the Air Force sprinters, but this time it was Carlson that posted the fastest time in the entire race: a lightning-quick 23.24. 

The 200 medley relay came in third on Saturday, made up of freshman Olivia Henderson, Grom, Redzuan, and Gray. The team was helped by the only sub-30 breaststroke split in the pool from Grom.

Freestyle Highlights
Carlson had a breakout first meet as a Trojan, claiming victory twice in the 50 as well as once in the 100 freestyle. The freshman stopped the clock at 23.90 on Saturday, just two one-hundredths of a second ahead of an Air Force opponent. Grom took third, close behind at 24.07.

The day before, both sprinters were consistent in the 50, finishing 1-2 just two hundredths apart at 24.11 and 24.13, while sophomore Aubry Matthews placed sixth with a time of 24.71.

Meanwhile, Carlson's 100 freestyle time of 51.65 dominated the competition and was nearly a lifetime best on Saturday.

Redzuan was the top Trojan in the 100 and 200 freestyle on Friday, battling for sixth in both events. The junior turned in a time of 53.97 in the former and 1:57.26 in the latter. She also led the team in the 500 on Saturday, touching the wall at 5:19.91.

It was Lea Zengerling that posted the best 500 time of the weekend on Friday, finishing fifth at 5:17.46. The senior also was the fastest 200 freestyle swimmer for Little Rock at Saturday's meet, taking sixth at 1:58.73.

Butterfly Highlights
Annya Grom led the Trojans in the 100 butterfly, placing fourth with a season-best time of 58.80. Junior Fer Moussier and sophomore Karina Harr were not far behind, both under a minute at 59.72 and 59.88, respectively.

Backstroke Highlights
Sophomore Taylor Floyd was the top Little Rock swimmer in the 100 backstroke, touching at 1:00.28. Freshmen Henderson and Caitlin Romprey were hundredths behind, stopping the clock at 1:00.36 and 1:00.38, respectively.

Romprey returned in the 200 backstroke to place fifth, finishing with a time of 2:09.09 to out-touch an Air Force opponent by exactly one one-hundredth of a second in her first appearance as a Trojan.
 
Breaststroke Highlights
Harr has stepped up as the primary breaststroker for Little Rock in her second year. The sophomore took home third in the 100, splitting her race well for a time of 1:08.09, the fastest of four swimmers at 1:08. She led the Trojans in the 200 breast as well, nearly breaking 2:30.

Up Next
Next Friday, October 15, Little Rock will make the short trip to Ouachita Baptist, where the Trojans will face both the Tigers and Incarnate Word. View the full Trojan schedule here.


For the latest information on Little Rock Swimming and Diving, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSwim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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