Trojans Inches Off School Record On Night One of Kansas Classic

TOPEKA, Kan. – From a 400 medley relay less than two tenths of a second away from a new school record to a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle, the Trojans opened night one of the Kansas Classic with several fast swims that are sure to keep Little Rock's momentum moving forward through the next two days of the mid-season invitational.
 
"Today was a fantastic start and we saw several well-deserved swims across the board," said head coach Amy Burgess. "These women are on a mission, and it has just begun."

View results from the first day here.

200 Free Relay
The squad of Cheryl Poulsen, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Lauren Gray and Jaelle Carlson dropped nearly three seconds off the team's seed time to turn in a sixth-place finish in the sprint freestyle relay. The final time of 1:34.36 was exactly one second behind conference opponents Indiana State and less than a second and a half behind Northern Iowa, and was helped by a strong anchoring time of 23.02 by Carlson.
 
500 Free
Avery Spencer and Gabriella O'Neil both posted season-best times to round out the C final. Spencer took off an additional two and a half seconds from her morning swim to lower her time down to 5:07.67, finishing right behind sixth place in her heat. O'Neil hit 5:10.97 at night, marking a total time drop of six seconds from her seed time.

200 IM
Gillian Boggs won the C final of the 200 IM with a big two-second drop at night down to 2:06.09, her best mark as a Trojan and now second on the program's top times list. Boggs out-touched two conference opponents by less than a second in a gritty race all the way to the finish. Also in the final was Ashleigh Green, touching the wall at 2:09.57 to nearly match her time from the morning in a showcase of consistency, her top time since 2021.

Duru Sibik and Lexie Shelton also dipped under the 2:10 mark, coming in at 2:09.35 and 2:09.93 to finish 2-3 in their heat, respectively. Ally DeSordi rounded out the D final with Sibik and Shelton after posting a season-best 2:13.72. 
 
50 Freestyle
Carlson highlighted the sprint event with a second-place finish, storming into the wall with a new personal best time of 23.30 in prelims before holding seed at 23.38 in the evening. Her marks move her up a spot into second on the top times list. Carlson's trio of 23's, including her relay split, showed growth and resilience as the sophomore grows into her role on the team.

Pieniazkiewicz popped a top time as a Trojan to make the C final, touching the wall at 23.94 to finish 18th overall, while Gray and Carlson finished at 24.19 and 24.50 in the D final, respectively. Delaney Crowder qualified for the extra heat at night, swimming a season-best 24.42 in prelims.

400 Medley Relay
The Trojans took off five seconds off their seed time to close the night out, with the team of Caitlin Romprey, Pieniazkiewicz, Carlson, and Gray putting together a time of 3:48.68. The final time was just over a tenth of a second away from the school record, a 3:48.56 set in 2017. Their mark was over a second and a half faster than Little Rock's time at conference this past season, putting them in a great spot to secure a spot in the history books this spring. View the Trojan recordbook here.
 
Up Next
Little Rock is currently in fifth place after the first day of competition at the Kansas Classic. Tomorrow, Little Rock will look to jump ahead with the help of a full slate of events: the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back, plus the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay at night.
 
Team Scores
1. Iowa State – 280
2. Kansas - 278
3. Indiana State – 215
4. Northern Iowa – 135
5. Little Rock– 93
 
Additional Day One Season-Best Times
500 Freestyle
Fernanda Gamez (5:12.33), Maci McCullough (5:15.41), Lara Alsader (5:17.97), Clare Sprinkle (5:22.16), Kasey Dunn (5:29.25)
200 IM
Brianna Ridings (2:15.56), Devin Trammell (2:16.67)
50 Freestyle
Caitlin Romprey (24.64), Lucy Jahn (24.71), Olivia Henderson (25.12), Nikki Sterchele (25.16), Taylor Floyd (25.33)
 

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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