Little Rock Swimming and Diving Dominates Home Opener

LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming and diving program opened the season at home this Saturday, winning the All-Arkansas Invite within the friendly confines of the Donaghey Aquatic Center by over 500 team points.
 
The Trojans have continued to build a deeper lineup in recent years, and for the third year in a row at the third annual invite, each of the three relays were remarkably faster than their marks at the meet the previous year.
 
"I'm fired up about winning the All Arkansas Invite for the first time in school history," said Coach Nathan Townsend while reflecting on his first meet as both a Trojan and a head coach. "I'm super proud of how our team performed from the first relay, to the last dive, to the last relay. The ladies brought a new kind of energy that pushed us to several lifetime best swims and also season best swims."

"We are in a great spot to do something really special this season, and this is just the start," he added. "They made my first meet very memorable and I'm so proud of them."

RESULTS (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY
 
Relays
The Trojans opened the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay, touching the wall with a first-place finishing time of 1:47.88. The team of Caitlin Romprey, Adara Stoddard, Jaelle Carlson and Cheryl Poulsen were over three seconds faster than the time that the A team turned in last year at the season opener and nearly a second ahead of second place. The B squad of Taylor Floyd, Ally DeSordi, Karina Harr and Lauren Pieniazkiewicz posted a time of 1:50.77, also quicker than last year's A relay.
 
The Trojans won the 200 freestyle relay with a quicker time than their mark at this meet last season as well. This time it was Carlson, Olivia Elgin, Pieniazkiewicz and Poulsen clocking in at 1:36.21 for a commanding four-second victory and a full second faster than 2022.
 
To close the meet, Little Rock competed in the 400 freestyle relay in dominant fashion. The A relay of Carlson, Poulsen, Matthews and Elgin stopped the clock at 3:33.68, over two seconds faster than last season and nearly nine seconds ahead of the second-place B squad. However, the B squad was another four seconds ahead of third place, while the C relay finished just over a second behind third place to further highlight the Trojan depth.

Freestyle Events
In her Trojan debut, freshman Olivia Elgin picked up a win in the 200 freestyle with a strong 1:54.60, three seconds ahead of the entire field. Senior Gabriella O'Neil touched out a third-place opponent to give Little Rock the 1-2 finish, coming in at 1:57.42, a full two seconds faster than her time from this meet last year.
 
Elgin also led the Trojans in the 100 free, clocking in at 53.92 for second place. Six Little Rock swimmers filed in to take fourth through ninth place, all within two and a half seconds of each other.
 
Showcasing depth similarly, this time in the shortest event in the lineup, the Trojans claimed second through seventh place in the 50 free. Three upperclassmen came in under the 25-second mark: Cheryl Poulsen at 24.03, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz at 24.49 and Aubry Matthews at 24.95.
 
Collecting another silver in her last first meet, O'Neil showed up in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:23.00. Again, the Trojans took fourth through seventh place, this time to pace one another in the longest event of the day.

 
Non-Free Events
The 200 IM kicked off the non-free events, while another freshman led the charge as Adara Stoddard out-touched second place by just over three tenths of a second. Senior Lexie Shelton placed third for the Trojans, stopping the clock at 2:15.32, a full two seconds faster than her time from the invite last season.
 
Little Rock grabbed a solid first and second in the 100 back as junior Caitlin Romprey led the way with a 59.71, half a second in front of senior Taylor Floyd's 1:00.29, a solid second ahead of third place.
 
Another 1-2 finish for the Trojans was in the 100 butterfly, where junior Jaelle Carlson touched first with a time of 58.25 while senior Karina Harr came in right behind at 58.64, two of just four swimmers under the one minute mark.
 
The final individual event of the day may have also been the tightest event of the day. Lauren Pieniazkiewicz got her hand on the wall first with a time of 1:09.01, out-touching the next swimmer by just 13 one-hundredths of a second. The top five finishers were all under 1:10, while Shelton, Stoddard, and Ally DeSordi touching at 1:09.63, 1:09.71, and 1:09.98, respectively.

Diving
In a great first test of the season for the diving squad under Coach Chris Pape, newcomer Kyra Apodaca collected wins on both boards. On the 1-meter, she scored 253.95 points to win by nearly 20, although the event was scored as a team event. Later, the junior transfer commanded with a lead of over 30 points on the 3-meter board, turning in a score of 272.65. On the taller board, Apodaca was joined by freshman Julia Banister, placing third with a score of 210.75.

Up Next
Little Rock will head to the sunshine state in three weeks, taking on North Florida and Tulane for a tri-meet in Jacksonville, Florida. View the full Trojan schedule here.

Final Team Scores
Women
1. Little Rock – 1060
2. Ouachita Baptist – 479
3. Henderson State – 358
4. Hendrix – 134
5. University of the Ozarks – 100
6. Harding - 88


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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