LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming team closed out their fall schedule this morning at home, fighting to a 139.5-113.5 loss to the North Texas Mean Green.
The Trojans won both relays and picked up wins in five events thanks to strong showings from senior
Lea Zengerling,
Annya Grom, and
Jaelle Carlson. As the only Little Rock swimmer in the 500, Zengerling out-touched second place by less than half a second with a time of 5:15.29, while Grom won the both 50 free and 100 IM, and Carlson the 100 free and 100 fly.
RESULTS
"It was a tough day but was one of our more solid performances against North Texas," said head coach
Amy Burgess. "Watching all our relays really step up shows there are great things to come."
Relays
Little Rock continues to post thrilling performances in their relays, opening the morning with a win in the 200 medley relay. The team of
Olivia Henderson, Grom,
Lauren Gray and Carlson bested the Mean Green by less than four tenths of a second for a 1:48.10, their second-best non-rested time of the year. Gray and Carlson both turned in the best times in their respective legs, with splits of 26.08 and 23.42.
The Trojans had a slightly larger amount of victory in the 200 freestyle relay to conclude the meet, starting out in front and never letting the lead go. This time, Grom, Gray,
Cheryl Poulsen and Carlson teamed up to post a time of 1:37.66, approximately seven tenths of a second ahead of North Texas.
Freestyle Highlights
The meet's individual events opened with the 1000, where
Lexie Shelton and
Lara Alsader finished fourth and fifth. Shelton's 11:06.87 was six seconds faster than the last time she swam the event, back in early October.
Along with her win in the 500, Zengerling also led Little Rock in the 200 free as the only Trojan under the two minute mark, touching the wall at 1:58.21 for third place.
Grom dominated the competition in the 50 free, throwing down a quick 23.90 as the only swimmer under 24 seconds. The next-closest swimmer was nearly a second behind, followed closely by
Aubry Matthews in third. The sophomore touched the wall at 24.90, just over half a second off her best time.
Carlson also had a strong swim in the 100, collecting her fourth individual win of the season in the event with a time of 52.27. The freshman has yet to be beaten in a dual in the 100 freestyle. Gray finished third with a time of 53.69 while
Lucy Jahn stopped the clock at 54.99 for fifth, just tenths off her personal best.
Butterfly Highlights
The sprint fly was claimed by Carlson as well, coming into the wall at 57.84, a full second ahead of second place.
Taylor Floyd had a solid swim in the event as well, finishing at 1:00.17, just tenths off of her season-best time. In the 200 fly,
Devin Trammell gutted out a 2:14.43 for third place, the only Trojan in the five-woman event.
Backstroke Highlights
Henderson and classmate
Caitlin Romprey showed consistency in the 100 backstroke, finishing 2-3 with times of 59.72 and 1:00.10, respectively. Floyd was not far off of the pair, touching the wall at 1:00.35 for fifth. Romprey returned as the top Trojan in the 200 back, coming in fourth place at 2:12.49.
Breaststroke Highlights
Karina Harr was the top finisher for Little Rock in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall at 1:08.82.
Carolyn Godwin also scored for the Trojans with her 1:10.22. However, Shelton flexed her distance skills in the 200 after coming off of the 1000, taking fourth with a time of 2:30.65.
100 IM
In a fun way to wrap up the individual events, Grom won the 100 IM with a time of 58.67, the only swimmer under a minute. Godwin was the next Little Rock finisher, stopping the clock at 1:01.36, followed by Trammell at 1:03.76 in an uncharacteristically short event for the freshman.
Up Next
Little Rock will have exactly a month off of racing before their next competition against SEC in-state opponents Arkansas in Fayetteville on January 15.
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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