Little Rock Posts Big Drops on Day Two of the Kansas Classic Invitational

TOPEKA, Kan. – This evening, the Little Rock swim team saw 26 individual swims advance to finals, while two familiar faces moved up in the Trojan Top Times list in the respective events as the team continue to push through the long day two of thr Kansas Classic, with one day still looming on the horizon.

"The team continues to impress and fight for every race," said head coach Amy Burgess. "This is always a challenging day but our IM group set the tone and everyone stepped up for each other and themselves." 

200 Medley Relay
The squad of Caitlin Romprey, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Jaelle Carlson and Lauren Gray finished 10th with a time of 1:44.83 in a loaded 200 medley relay race. Their final mark was nearly three seconds faster than the team previous beset from earlier this season.
 
400 IM 
Gillian Boggs became just the second Trojan to ever dip below 4:30 in the 400 IM, posting a 4:28.29 for fourth place in her heat at 12th overall. She took off 14 seconds from her seed time going into the day and collected a lifetime best in the process.

Ashleigh Green, Lexie Shelton, and Duru Sibik joined her at finals. Green led the C final group with a fourth place finish in the heat, coming in at 4:35.31, a massive drop of 18 seconds from her time earlier this season. Meanwhile, Shelton cut off nearly six seconds from her morning swim to move up, touching the wall at 4:37.27 and shaving off 12 seconds. Sibik rounded out the heat after claiming a new personal best of 4:37.85 in prelims, a nine-second drop.

100 Butterfly
Carlson continues to collect big points for the Trojans, taking fourth overall in the 100 fly with a time of 55.46, over two seconds faster than earlier in the year. The lifetime best time also moves her into third all-time for Little Rock in the event.

Gray and Fer Moussier qualified for the C final, as the former popped a 56.79 in prelims, just a tenth shy of the scoring final. At night, Gray took fourth in her heat, stopping the clock at 57.06. Moussier lowered her time to 57.79 in finals, ensuring that both seniors took off over a second from their seeds.

The bonus heat had Lucy Jahn and Brianna Ridings return for the Trojans after swims of 58.71 and 59.94 in prelims, respectively.
 
200 Freestyle
Seven Little Rock swimmers competed in finals, led by Gabriella O'Neil's 1:53.99, good for 13th place overall and a three-second drop. Olivia Henderson and Maci McCullough raced in the C final, as the sophomore came in at 1:57.05 at 21st place while the junior collected a season-best 1:57.78.

The D final was won by Delaney Crowder, as she cut off three seconds from morning to evening to finish with a 1:56.75. Clare Sprinkle and Lara Alsader were both under the two-minute today, with the former touching the wall at 1:59.96 in finals and the latter stopping the clock at 1:58.26 in prelims. Kasey Dunn wrapped up the group with a season-best 2:03.44.
 
100 Breaststroke
Pieniazkiewicz continues to have a successful meet, notching a Trojan career best mark of 1:05.68 and taking 12th place overall. Karina Harr joined her in the scoring B final, coming in 15th place with a time of 1:06.36.

Racing in the C final were freshmen Sibik and Nikki Sterchele, touching the wall at 1:08.28 and 1:08.80, respectively. Sibik's time was a personal best by almost three seconds while Sterchele was only three one-hundreths off a second away from one of her own. DeSordi came back in the D final, posting a strong time of 1:08.03 to additionally drop nearly three seconds.

100 Backstroke
Caitlin Romprey scored for the Trojans in the backstroke event of the day, coming in 12th overall with a time of 57.01 and showing consistency from prelims to finals. Gray doubled up her events today to also make C finals in the 100 back, posting a time of 57.88. Her preliminary swim time of 57.71 marked a drop of nearly a full second.

Taylor Floyd, Fernanda Gamez and Aubry Matthews each came back in the D final for another swim, coming in with big season-best times of 58.41, 59.56, and 59.92. It was the first time breaking a minute for Matthews.
 
800 Freestyle Relay
Carlson, O'Neil, Cheryl Poulsen and Avery Spencer teamed up in the longest relay of the weekend, splitting a pair of 1:54s and 1:55s for a time of 7:39.60 and 8th place overall.
 
Up Next
Tomorrow will wrap up the three-day Kansas Class invitational. The Trojans will race in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, and 1650 free, while the 400 free relay will conclude the evening finals session.
 
Team Scores
1. Kansas – 639
2. Iowa State – 630
3. Indiana State – 532
4. Northern Iowa – 314
5. Little Rock – 197
 
Additional Day Two Season-Best Times
400 IM
Devin Trammell (4:52.39)
100 Butterfly
Karina Harr (58.62), Taylor Floyd (1:00.46), Ally DeSordi (1:03.77)
200 Freestyle
Cheryl Poulsen (1:55.38), Avery Spencer (1:56.87)
 

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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