Little Rock Swimming and Diving Grits Out Meet at Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In their final away dual of the season, Little Rock shook off the dust from an almost two-month hiatus from competition and dove headfirst into their second matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
 
"Really strong showing from the Trojans today," said head coach Nathan Townsend. "I told them before the meet today that it was all about shaking off the rust. The mission was to compete and be better than last year."
 
"You could see our first races we were a little off, but then as the meet went on, we got better and better," he added. "We are feeling confident moving forward as we prepare for our senior meet and conference." 

Though notching season bests are difficult at this point in the season following a midseason rest week (especially in the middle of the month that Coach Townsend lightheartedly nicknamed Slam-uary, the time of the year that includes heavy work ahead of conference and other postseason competition coming up in a handful of weeks), there were still a few races where the Trojans set some higher marks. 
 
Relays
The 200 medley relay opened the meet, and the quartet of Caitlin Romprey, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Jaelle Carlson and Cheryl Poulsen touched the wall with a time of 1:45.83, nearly two seconds faster than what the A relay turned in against the Razorbacks in the fall.
 
For the finale, the 200 freestyle relay was tight thanks to the efforts of Poulsen, Pieniazkiewicz, Olivia Elgin and Carlson. Anchored by Carlson's hammer of a 23.31, the second-fastest split in the entire pool, and helped by Pieniazkiewicz's solid mid-23, the squad finished with a time of 1:34.99, just tenths behind Arkansas.

Freestyle Highlights
The 1650 is not often seen in a dual lineup, but Trojan distance swimmers Lara Alsader and Lexie Shelton made the most of it, with highly impressive times for this point in the season that are only seconds off of making it onto the Little Rock Top Times list.
 
Alsader's 17:41.92 was good for second place, and more importantly was less than a second off her time in the race when she was rested at the midseason meet in November.
 
Meanwhile, Shelton continues to showcase a strong senior season, swimming the mile for the first time in over two years. Her 17:48.10 today was a mark just shy of her best time in college, a 17:47 at the conference championships as a freshman, and only six seconds away from matching her lifetime best.
 
In the 200, freshman Elgin continues to shine in her signature event, clocking in at 1:54.20 for third place. She returned in the 100 to come in with a time of 52.52 for second place overall. Carlson wasn't far off of her teammate, clocking in at 52.69 for third, not long after leading Little Rock in the 50 freestyle with a 24.23.
 
To top off the freestyle events, in the 500, Gabriella O'Neil turned in an unrested season-best in the 500, placing third with a time of 5:19.58.

Breaststroke Highlights
A favorable meet continued for Pieniazkiewicz in the 100 breaststroke, as the junior took fourth with a time of 1:06.31. The longer breaststroke race saw Adara Stoddard touch at 2:24.82, taking third with a reliable result from the freshman.

Backstroke Highlights
Caitlin Romprey continues to lead the Trojan backstrokers, finishing fourth in the 100 back with a time of 59.07 before returning in the 200 backstroke to claim second place, stopping the clock at 2:08.48.

Butterfly Highlights
The 200 butterfly had Gillian Boggs leading the way, touching the wall at 2:11.88, notably four seconds fastest than her time in the event against the Razorbacks in the fall. The 100 butterfly was won by none other than Pieniazkiewicz, stopping the clock at 57.81 for a lifetime best. She had never raced that event collegiately before today. 

400 IM
Yet another race that doesn't show up in dual meets as often, Boggs made quick work of it to take home second place and a time of 4:38.39.

Diving Highlights
Kyra Apodaca finished fourth on the 1 meter board, collecting 229.20 points. On the 3 meter, Apodaca scored 248.48 points, taking fourth despite being within reach of a pair of Razorbacks.

Up Next
The Trojans will have the next few weeks to grind through Rocktober before welcoming St.Louis and Henderson State to Little Rock for a tri-meet on Saturday, November 4. 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