LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock swimming and diving celebrated their senior class in the best way today in their final home meet, giving the five members of the Class of 2023 a win following their Senior Day ceremony.
The Trojans bested Henderson State 158.5-72.5 in their second matchup against the in-state opponents, defeating the Reddies handily the second time around despite just coming off a hard week of winter training.
Relays
The meet opened and closed with relay wins, showcasing Little Rock's depth in both races. The 400 medley relay saw impressive legs from all four members of the A squad, but a 56 flat from
Jaelle Carlson was key to pulling ahead of Henderson State, as senior Trojan
Lauren Gray brought the team home with a time of 3:55.22, their second-best nonrested mark of the year.
The final race, the 400 freestyle relay, saw the Trojans finish back-to-back, as the A squad of Gray,
Gabriella O'Neil,
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz and Carlson demolished the field with a time of 3:36.51 and the B squad finished second over Henderson State's top relay by over two seconds, touching the wall at 3:44.73.
Freestyle Highlights
In her first dual meet win of her career,
Clare Sprinkle took first in the 1000 with a season-best time of 11:03.58, showing off her hard work over break. The junior helped push teammate
Lara Alsader to a second-place finish, also notching a season-best time at 11:18.15, a 14-second drop. Sprinkle claimed gold again in the 500, a non-rested season best time of 5:26.66 just four seconds off her time from the Kansas Classic. This time, she helped
Delaney Crowder to silver in the junior's first-ever collegiate 500 free, as Crowder recorded a time of 5:31.18.
Not long after, the Trojans claimed another victory as
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz also snatched her first event win in the 50 freestyle. She was the only swimmer finishing under 25 seconds, stopping the clock at 24.50, exactly half a second ahead of second place for a comfortable win. Meanwhile,
Taylor Floyd finish third, matching her rested time of 25.33 at the Kansas Classic earlier this year.
The 200 freestyle saw freshman
Avery Spencer lead Little Rock, coming into the wall at 2:00.09, while senior
Fernanda Gamez tied a Henderson State swimmer for third thanks to a strong final 50, clocking in at 2:01.91.
Carlson claimed second in the 100 free, stopping the clock at 52.63 to continue her strong day. Gray and O'Neil turned in times of 54.14 and 55.00, just off their splits from the 400 free relay.
200 Stroke Highlights
The Trojans swept the 200 butterfly, led by
Fer Moussier and her time of 2:11.22. Spencer was not far off, coming in at 2:12.65, while
Devin Trammell recorded a season-best time of 2:16.45 for third. Trammell's mark was faster than her suited-up time at the Kansas Classic, which bodes well for the sophomore's season moving forward.
There was another sweep in the 200 backstroke, this time with
Caitlin Romprey leading the way. Her time of 2:08.95 outpaced the entire field, as teammates
Olivia Henderson and
Taylor Floyd proved to be training partners with times of 2:12.13 and 2:12.84, respectively.
Wrapping up the 200s of stroke was a 1-2 finish for the Trojans in the 200 breaststroke, as
Duru Sibik and
Karina Harr finished one one-hundredth of a second apart from one another. Sibik touched the wall at 2:30.35 in a consistent race, notching a non-rested best time for first. Harr placed second, beating out the top Henderson State swimmer by over a second.
IM Highlights
The tough 400 IM tested the Trojans, but the pair of
Gillian Boggs and
Ashleigh Green turned in respectable times. Boggs placed second with a time of 4:43.83, only second off her previous un-rested season-best from October, while Green came in third, smashing her previous non-rested time from this season by over eight seconds and touching the wall at 4:46.09.
Diving Highlights
Izzy Ragsdale returned to the boards this weekend, taking second place on the 1-meter with a score of 198.20 before claiming first on the 3-meter board with a final score of 222.79, both personal best marks from the freshman.
Up Next
Tomorrow, Little Rock will travel north to race the Razorbacks at 11 a.m., competing against Arkansas in a head-to-head dual for the second time in program history.
View the full schedule here.
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
