CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Trojans had another big day on day two, and is right in the thick of the team battle at the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, sitting right behind fifth place by a single point.
Little Rock advanced 15 swimmers to tonight's evening finals session, including four A finalists, six B finalists, and five C finalists. From year-to-year, this was an increase of four scorers and three finalists, again showing the team improvement throughout an unprecedented season that could have easily done the opposite.
DAY TWO PHOTOS |
FULL RESULTS THROUGH DAY TWO |
DAY THREE PRELIMS HEAT SHEET
Relays
The most exciting event was possibly the 800 free relay at the conclusion of the meet, where the Trojans were neck-and-neck with their opponents in the lane next to them for most of the race. With a lead built by
Gabriella O'Neil,
Lea Zengerling, and
Asmalia Redzuan,
Ashleigh Green was able to gut out the finish and steal fifth place with a time of 7:38.42, just over a tenth ahead of the next team.
The 200 medley relay of
Regan Lawrence,
Palmer Ristroph, Redzuan, and
Annya Grom opened the meet with a sixth-place finish, taking off three seconds from their seed time to notch a time of 1:45.06.
400 IM
All four Trojans that competed made it back to finals tonight, each dropping over 10 seconds from their in-season bests.
Maci McCullough,
Lexie Shelton and Green scored points in the B final while
Clare Sprinkle raced in her first collegiate final in the C.
McCullough shaved off a second from her morning swim, touching the wall at 4:32.17 to finish second in her heat. Her time is now on
the Little Rock top times list. Shelton was fairly consistent from prelims to finals, posting a 4:33.23, which is now fifth on the top times list, and holding seed at night to take 13th overall. Green dropped three seconds to earn a lifetime best 4:34.77. Meanwhile, Sprinkle also earned a personal best 4:45.93 to qualify for the evening.
100 Butterfly
In a huge event for Little Rock, both
Fer Moussier and Grom took home podium finishes, claiming fifth and sixth overall, respectively. Moussier stopped the clock at 55.62 for a lifetime best, moving up to third on
the Little Rock top times list, while Grom was close by in 55.75.
Also representing the Trojans was
Karina Harr in the C final. The freshman notched a lifetime best 57.14, winning the heat in the process. Meanwhile,
Brianna Ridings won a swim-off for first alternate, dropping an entire second from her prelims swim to post a lifetime-best 57.59.
200 Freestyle
O'Neil and Zengerling both scored big points in the 200 free, an event that they raced three times in one day between prelims, finals, and the relay. The freshman earned a sixth-place overall finish with a time of 1:52.88 to stand on the podium. Meanwhile, the junior placed 12th overall, touching the pad at 1:53.81. Redzuan qualified for the C final but opted to scratch to rest for the 800 free relay.
100 Breaststroke
Palmer Ristroph and Harr were the only Trojans in the 100 breast, each coming back at night and scoring team points. The senior competed in the A final for the second time in her career, taking home a seventh-place finish at 1:04.68. Harr had a tough double between this and the 100 fly but managed to move up a spot at night to finish 15th at 1:06.51.
100 Backstroke
To conclude the individual events for the day, Lawrence scored for the Trojans in the B final of the 100 back, touching the wall at 57.94.
Taylor Floyd cut off an entire second from her morning swim to finish fourth in the C final with a time of 57.66, which is now fifth on the Little Rock top times list.
Fernanda Gamez posted a 58.56 to get into the first finals heat as well, taking 23rd overall.
Up Next
Tomorrow, Little Rock will compete in the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1650 freestyle, and 400 freestyle relay. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. CT.
Find all live streams for Friday here.
Team Scores
1. Missouri State – 618.5
2. Southern Illinois – 363.5
3. Indiana State – 322.5
4. Illinois State – 282
5. Northern Iowa – 224
6. Little Rock – 223
7. Evansville – 210.5
8. Valparaiso – 95
Additional Day Two Season-Best Times
100 Butterfly
Taylor Floyd (59.14)
200 Freestyle
Lily Kerr (2:01.74)
100 Breaststroke
Katelyn White (1:08.72)
100 Backstroke
Fer Moussier (59.49),
Aubry Matthews (1:00.64)
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.
#LittleRocksTeam
