IOWA CITY, Iowa. – Little Rock swimming closed out the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championships with two more podium appearances, a new school record, and an impressive seven All-Missouri Valley Conference honorees.
Annya Grom finished her junior campaign going three-for-three in her individual events, breaking her own school record in the prelims of the 100 freestyle to sit in a tie for first going into finals. Her time of 49.52 is the first time that any Trojan has gone under the 50-second mark off a flat start in the 100 free, and the Israel native was only one one-hundredth of a second away from collecting her second NCAA B cut. Grom took second in finals, stopping the clock at 49.85.
She was joined on the podium later in the evening by her 400 freestyle relay team, made up of
Jaelle Carlson,
Lauren Gray and
Cheryl Poulsen. The group turned in a time of 3:24.37 to end the championships on a high note, the second-fastest time in program history.
Grom earned All-MVC First Team Honors for the second straight year. Also receiving recognition for their performances at the championship meet were
Gillian Boggs, Carlson,
Carolyn Godwin, Gray, Poulsen, and
Lea Zengerling, all taking home All-MVC Honorable Mentions.
The meet was also significant as six Little Rock senior swimmers hung up their caps and goggles for the last time:
Khadijah Brown,
Rylie Discenza, Godwin,
Asmalia Redzuan,
Katelyn White and Zengerling.
DAY FOUR PHOTOS |
FULL RESULTS
200 Backstroke
Olivia Henderson qualified for the B final with a time of 2:04.25, finishing 15th overall in the evening to score team points.
In the C final, three Little Rock backstrokers raced, as
Caitlin Romprey touched the wall second in the heat with a season-best time of 2:04.64, dropping over half a second from the morning.
Lea Zengerling raced her final individual event of the weekend two places behind her freshman teammate, while
Fernanda Gamez rounded out the heat with a 2:06.31, shaving off time from prelims.
100 Freestyle
Right before Grom's runner-up finish, the sprinters showed up in the B final. The trio of
Jaelle Carlson,
Lauren Gray, and
Cheryl Poulsen went 1-3-8 in the heat for important team points, all three Trojans dropping time at night. Carlson led the way with a time of 51.05, while Gray and Poulsen each collected lifetime bests at 51.68 and 52.43, respectively.
200 Breaststroke
Gilian Boggs returned for her third scoring event of the weekend, rounding out the B final. The freshman was consistent from morning to evening, touching the wall at 2:23.61.
In the C final,
Lexie Shelton and
Karina Harr both looked strong, each taking off approximately a second and a half from their preliminary swims. Shelton placed third in the heat, stopping the clock at 2:24.46, while classmate Harr's time of 2:25.13 was good for fifth in the C final.
200 Butterfly
Throwing down a gutsy finish to her week,
Fer Moussier moved up to third overall in the B final with a season-best 2:06.92. Joining her at night was
Devin Trammell, coming in fifth in the C final after posting a season-best 2:10.08 in the morning.
Final Team Scores
1. Missouri State – 889.5
2. Illinois State – 492.5
3. Indiana State – 474
4. Southern Illinois – 473.5
5. Northern Iowa – 431.5
6. Evansville – 328
7. Little Rock – 281
8. Valparaiso – 68
Additional Day Four Season-Best Times
200 Backstroke
Taylor Floyd (2:07.55)
100 Freestyle
Lara Alsader (54.65),
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz (54.93),
Delaney Crowder (53.27),
Lucy Jahn (53.92),
Khadijah Brown (54.26),
Rylie Discenza (55.76),
Kasey Dunn (56.24)
200 Butterfly
Maci McCullough (2:14.38)
1650 Freestyle
Clare Sprinkle (18:23.15)
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
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