Little Rock vs Henderson State (Women)
- Friday, January 13, 2023
- Little Rock, Ark.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Score: Little Rock 158.5, Henderson State 72.5
Courtesy: Little Rock Athletics
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.
Courtesy: Henderson State Athletics
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In its first meet of 2023, the Henderson State women swam against Division I Arkansas-Little Rock in the state’s capitol for the second time this season. The Red Wave won three events on the afternoon before falling to the Trojans, 158.5-72.5.
In the first event of the intra-state meet, Henderson’s quartet of Kiara Pozvai, Jessica Bongfeldt, Izzy Andrews and Mackenzie Kester placed second in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:55.66, trailing UALR’s top-finishing team by 0.44 seconds.
Pozvai later came back in her own event to take first place in the 200 free with a time of 1:57.98, pacing the leading Trojan by two whole seconds. Pozvai currently holds the eighth fastest 200 free time in Division II. In the same race, freshman Ryann Grasser took third-place honors (2:01.91).
Emma Jorgensen matched her teammate by topping the podium in the 400 IM after touching at 4:35.93, which is the fourth fastest time in that event in school history as she put a staggering seven seconds between her and the second-place swimmer.
Jorgensen, who holds the school record in the 400 IM and now holds three of the five fastest 400 IM times in school history, currently holds the 34th fastest time in DII in the individual medley event.
Rounding out the winners for HSU was Laci Long, who defeated UALR’s Isabelle Ragsdale in the 1 meter dive, 217.50-198.20.
Kester finished second in the 50 free (25.00) while Pearl Himelick recorded a couple third-place finishes in the 1000 yard free (11:35.29) and the 500 free (5:40.47). Bongfeldt made the podium in the 200 breast, touching the wall at 2:31.74 for third.
Henderson St. returns to the pool tomorrow when they head to Cleveland, Mississippi to take on NSISC-foe Delta State Saturday, Jan. 14 at 12 p.m.
