LITTLE ROCK - After taking nearly a month off of competition to train, the Little Rock swimming and diving team is back in action this Friday, March 12 for a conference tri-meet. The Trojans will travel to Southern Illinois, who will host both Little Rock and Valparaiso. The tri-meet is set to start at 2:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on the SIU Student Recreation Center Facebook page. Results will also be posted on the MeetMobile app.
"As we enter into the final stretch of our season, this weekend marks a great opportunity to again see some of the top competitors in our conference," said head coach Amy Burgess. "Through all the ups and downs this year, this team continues to persevere and looks better and better each week. We are looking forward to competing again and are expecting some exciting racing this week."
In preparation for next month's Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championships, this will mark the second and third of four total conference opponents for the Trojans this season. Little Rock has never faced Valparaiso in a dual meet format before, but since joining the MVC in the 2017-18 season, the Crusaders have rounded out the eight teams competing. Meanwhile, the Trojans have faced SIU seven times during the regular season and are searching for their first dual win over the Salukis.
With just over a month remaining in the 2021 season, the Trojans will also look to lower their seed times ahead of the conference championships. Currently, Little Rock has five swimmers that have posted results within the top 16 of an event in the MVC, which bodes well for the Trojans as those than finish in the top 16 at conference will score team points.
Annya Grom leads the team with three swims ranked within the top three. Her 50 free time of 23.48 is the second-fastest time recorded this season, which is one tenth off of the school record and places her second on the Little Rock top times list. The sophomore's 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke mark are both third overall in the conference so far. Grom's 100 free time of 51.00 also sits second on the Trojans' top times list and is .28 off of the school record. Meanwhile, her time of 1:03.95 in the 100 breast from this year is only two tenths off her own school record.
Regan Lawrence's 100 free time from the Missouri State dual, 52.50, has the senior 11th in the conference in the sprint race as well as just one second off of a spot within the Little Rock top times list. Classmate Palmer Ristroph is also within the top 16, currently 15th in the 100 breast with a 1:07.06. Fer Moussier has posted two times good for the top 16: the sophomore is 13th in the 200 fly (2:08.42) and 15th in the 100 fly (57.52). Finally, Karina Harr sits at 15th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:27.32 as the only freshman Trojan that is in a scoring position thus far.
With an exciting tri-meet ahead of them tomorrow, the Trojans have a good opportunity to make one more statement in person against their conference foes. Their last MVC dual will be a virtual meet against Illinois State, in which both teams will compete in their own pools at 10 a.m. on March 27 before comparing results.
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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