Liberty Flames Win Home Invite With Record-Breaking Final Day

2024 TYR ’85 Invite

• November 22-24, 2024
• Lynchburg, Va.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Liberty Athletics

Liberty claimed the team title at the 2024 TYR ’85 Invite, setting a pair of program records on Sunday at Liberty Natatorium.

The Lady Flames won with 3,026.5 points, while Ohio finished second with 2,937. Saint Francis (Pa.) (1,452.5) finished third, followed by Campbell (1,178) and California (Pa.) (740).

This weekend marked the first midseason invitational that Liberty has won in women’s swimming & diving history.

Liberty set records in both the 200 breaststroke (Aly Bozzuto) and 400 free relay (Bozzuto, Natalie Colarossi, Sydney Stricklin, Kamryn Cannings) tonight.

Liberty Top 9 Finishers and Top Relays

• Jr. Eden Troxell – 1650 freestyle (1^st place in 16:49.26)
• Jr. Isabelle Gomez – 1650 freestyle (3^rd place in 16:58.59)
• So. Shannon Icard – Platform diving (5) (1^st place in 195.45)
• So. Chloe LaCount – Platform diving (5) (2^nd place in 181.50)
• Fr. Tayler Curlee – Platform diving (5) (3^rd place in 175.15)
• Jr. Elizabeth Mumau – Platform diving (5) (5^th place in 147.70)
• Jr. Mary Herndon – Platform diving (5) (6^th place in 146.55)
• Sr. Maddie Freece – Platform diving (5) (7^th place in 144.45)
• R-So. Malia Francis – 200 backstroke (1^st place in 1:56.74; qualified in 1:57.89)
• Fr. Layne Jones – 200 backstroke (2^nd place in 1:59.82; qualified in 2:00.00)
• So. Sadie Stricklin – 200 backstroke (5^th place in 2:01.47; qualified in 2:01.27)
• Sr. Sydney Stricklin – 100 freestyle (2^nd place in 48.94; qualified in 49.43)
• Sr. Shelby Kahn – 100 freestyle (3^rd place in 50.77; qualified in 51.50)
• Fr. Natalie Colarossi – 100 freestyle (5^th place in 51.01; qualified in 51.39)
• Sr. Kate Baker – 100 freestyle (t-7^th place in 51.69; qualified in 51.78)
• Jr. Faith Forsberg – 100 freestyle (9^th place in 51.83; qualified in 52.08)
• Fr. Aly Bozzuto – 200 breaststroke (1^st place in 2:11.28; qualified in 2:13.86)
• Fr. Taylor Stasny – 200 breaststroke (3^rd place in 2:16.16; qualified in 2:16.14)
• Sr. Grace Isaacs – 200 breaststroke (8^th place in 2:19.37; qualified in 2:22.57)
• So. Kamryn Cannings – 200 butterfly (1^st place in 1:58.31; qualified in 1:59.70)
• So. Emily Harstad – 200 butterfly (2^nd place in 2:01.57; qualified in 2:03.52)
• Sr. Emily Gallion – 200 butterfly (4^th place in 2:04.73; qualified in 2:05.26)
• 400 Free Relay – 1^st place in 3:26.60 (Aly Bozzuto – 49.94; Natalie Colarossi – 50.44; Sydney Stricklin – 48.19; Kamryn Cannings – 48.40)

Notable

• The Lady Flames claimed six events tonight, including platform diving (Shannon Icard), 1650 freestyle (Eden Troxell), 200 backstroke (Malia Francis), 200 breaststroke (Aly Bozzuto) and 200 butterfly (Kamryn Cannings) and the 400 free relay. For the meet as a whole, Liberty won 14 total events, including 10 individual events and four relays.
• Liberty went 1-2-3 in platform diving, with Shannon Icard (195.45) winning, followed by Chloe LaCount (181.50) and Tayler Curlee (175.15).
• Eden Troxell won the 1650 freestyle in 16:49.26, followed in third place by Isabelle Gomez (16:58.59).
• The Lady Flames took the first two spots in the 200 backstroke, with Malia Francis winning in 1:56.74 and Layne Jones in second at 1:59.82.
• Ohio’s Zita Szoke won the 100 free in 48.48, while Liberty’s Sydney Stricklin also swam an NCAA B cut, 48.94. Shelby Kahn went 50.77 for third
• Bozzuto’s record-breaking 200 breaststroke of 2:11.28 met the NCAA B standard and edged Ohio’s Casadie DiBetta (2:11.73). Taylor Stasny (2:16.16) finished third for the Lady Flames.
• Kamryn Cannings claimed the 200 fly in 1:58.31, while Emily Harstad (2:01.57) finished second and Emily Gallion (2:04.73) fourth.
• Liberty won the meet-ending 400 free relay in a program-record 3:16.97.

Historically Speaking

• Bozzuto broke a 10-year-old record, swimming 2:11.28 for the 200 breaststroke. The previous record of 2:11.99 was set by Emilie Kaufman on March 22, 2014. Stasny’s 2:16.16 ranks 10^th in program history in the event.
• Liberty’s 400 free relay of Aly Bozzuto, Natalie Colarossi, Sydney Stricklin and Kamryn Cannings set a program record at 3:16.97. The existing record of 3:17.82 was set on Feb. 17, 2018.
• Chloe LaCount and Tayler Curlee both entered Liberty’s all-time top 10 performers list in platform diving this evening. LaCount’s 181.50 ranks sixth, while Curlee’s 175.15 is good for seventh.
• Sydney Stricklin became the second Lady Flame all-time to break 49 seconds in the 100 freestyle, swimming her lifetime-best, NCAA B cut 48.94. She trails only teammate Kamryn Cannings (48.72 at 2024 ASUN Championships).
• Harstad is now eighth in program history in the 200 fly with her 2:01.57 from tonight.
• Bozzuto’s 49.94 leadoff on the 400 freestyle relay is ranked 10^th in program history for 100 freestyle.

Up Next
The Lady Flames will next compete in a dual meet at East Carolina, Jan. 17-18.

Courtesy: Ohio Athletics

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Ohio swimming and diving team wrapped up the 2024 TYR ’85 Invite hosted by Liberty Sunday evening (Nov. 24). The Bobcats finished the event in second place with 2937 points.

Senior Gabrielle McKee (Gilbertsville, Pa.) opened the night in the 1650 free, placing second overall with a time of 16:53.23. Freshman Melissa Blaine (Cape Coral, Fla.) finished sixth (17:21.86), while junior Anna McGrath (Lewis Center, Ohio) finished in seventh (17:24.71), sophomore Ashley Sallows (Delaware, Ohio) in eighth (17:28.60) and freshman Maddie Berg in ninth (17:29.38).

In the 200 back, junior Morgan Brown (Roanoke, Ind.) placed third with a time of 2:00.49, followed by freshman Sofia Matern (Cincinnati, Ohio) in fourth with a time of 2:01.21.

In the 100 free, sophomore Zita Szoke (Hodmezovasarhely, Hungary) picked up a first-place finish with a time of 48.48, while graduate student Caroline Dunigan (Lansdale, Pa.) placed fourth in 50.81.

Junior Casadie DiBetta (St. Clairsville, Ohio) picked up a second-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing the race with a time of 2:11.73. Meanwhile, junior Emily Ellsworth (Westerville, Ohio) finished fourth in 2:16.32, while senior Julia Strine (Shippensburg, Pa.) finished sixth (2:17.57), senior Edie Sawyer (Cranberry Township, Pa.) finished seventh (2:18.79) and senior Raphaelle Anglade (Toulouse, France) placed ninth with a time of 2:20.66.

In the 200 fly, McKee placed third with a time of 2:03.13, while sophomore Isabella Arbaugh (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished fourth (2:05.62) and Blaine in seventh with a time of 2:06.23.

In the final event of the weekend, the 4×100 freestyle relay, the Ohio ‘A’ team of Szoke, Dunigan, freshman Jordan Claypoole (Parkersburg, W. Va.) and sophomore Katie Buroker (Zionsville, Ind.) placed second, finishing with a time of 3:19.55.

Up next, select member of the Ohio swim team will head to Greensboro, N.C. Dec. 4-7 for the 2024 Toyota U.S. Open.