North Texas Women, Oklahoma Christian Men Highlight Unscored Sam Freas Invitational

2024 Sam Freas Invitational

• September 28, 2024
• Edmond, Oklahoma
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: North Texas Athletics

EDMOND, Okla. – The UNT swim team opened the 2024-25 season on Saturday at the Sam Freas Invitational, and head coach Brittany Roth was pleased with what she saw in the team’s first chance to swim against other teams in a competitive setting.

The Mean Green won seven events, including a couple from newcomers Indra Vandenbussche and Mikaela Goelst, and saw several returners swim their best times ever at the event, which traditionally serves as a season-opening test of progress over the summer.

“The team’s outing at San Freas went really well,” Roth said. “It’s fun to get a chance to race and see where their summer and early season training has them, and the results are exciting at this phase of the season. Many of our returning team members performed better at this meet than any season previously (Diana Kolb, Shaena McCloud, Sam Robles, Kailey Turner, Kennedy Eichler, Paige Walsh, Iza Ruiz).”

Other race wins came from Diana Kolb (100 backstroke), Kailey Turner (200 butterfly, 500 freestyle), Shaena McCloud (100 butterfly)

While Vandenbussche, who won the 100 freestyle and 100 IM, is a grad transfer from SMU with plenty of experience, Goelst led a group of freshmen, who had good showings, by winning the 100 breaststroke.

“Our newcomers were exciting to watch and we got a chance to learn their methods and tendencies in racing,” Roth said. “Indra Vandenbussche had a great meet, showing her range, but also brought the team energy and excitement, which is so valuable in our team. For Scarlett McCloud, Maddie McAlister, Keira Stericker, and Mikaela Goelst, I was really excited to watch them take on their first college meet, and I was really impressed with their competitiveness and showing. It will be fun to build on this start.”

The divers will make their season debut when they join the swimmers next weekend with meets at New Mexico and New Mexico State.

Courtesy: Oklahoma Christian Athletics

EDMOND, Okla. – Oklahoma Christian’s men’s and women’s swimming programs joined schools from across NCAA Division I and Division II to honor the late swim legend Sam Freas in the fifth annual Sam Freas Invitational Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28.

Women

Sophomore Tammy Greenwood claimed the only two wins on night for the Eagle women, touching the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.25) and 200 backstroke (2:03.46), during which she beat NCAA DI North Texas’ second-place swimmer by nearly three whole seconds.

Prior to her individual wins, Greenwood joined the OC trio of Alex Lane, Andrea Paradis and Vanessa Weatherford in the 200 medley relay as the Eagles earned the top finish among Division II quartets and fourth overall at 1:48.74.

In the 100 back, Hailey Uhrig, Paradis and true freshman Grace Cooper finished fourth, fifth and sixth as the top DII finishers with times of 1:06.83, 1:08.74 and 1:09.32, respectively. Vanessa Weatherford and Laura Byars also claimed top finishes among DII competition in the 100 butterfly (59.20) 100 free (54.81).

Jadie Brister and Caroline Glover bested the DII competition in the 100 IM, touching the wall at 1:02.92 and 1:03.29, respectively, finishing fourth and fifth overall.

Men

The OC men saw their first one-two finish of the night in the 100 backstroke as Arizona State transfer Jarod Arroyo and Noah Rabb occupied the top two spots on the podium with times of 50.63 and 52.27. Arroyo and Rabb also one-twoed the competition in the the 100 IM (52.12, 53.98).

Arroyo claimed one more individual win in his impressive Eagle debut, taking first in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:03.19, winning by a staggering six seconds. Defending 200 breaststroke national champion JT Amrein echoed his dominance in the 100 with a winning-time of 57.25.

Gui Martins and Eli Rollen were the other Eagle men to claim individual wins in the  200 fly (1:54.21) and 200 back (1:52.56), respectively. In addition to their wins, Martins and Rollen placed second in the 100 fly (52.01) and the 50 free (21.51). Lamar Rodov joined Martin and Rollen with the Runner-Up finishes in the 100 free (48.30).

Up Next

Both Eagle programs will head to the Natural State to swim against Ouachita Baptist Friday, Oct. 11 at 4 p.m. before moving across the street to battle Henderson State Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.

Courtesy: Ouachita Baptist Athletics

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Ouachita men’s and women’s swimming and diving team competed at the Sam Freas Invitational hosted by Oklahoma Christian University Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma.

There were no scores recorded at the invitational, but the Tigershark squads fared well against the competition that included women’s Division I programs from UA-Little Rock and North Texas, and men’s and women’s programs from ranked DII schools and top NAIA and junior college programs.

Women

The Tigershark women had several top performers while going up against Division I competition:

Anna Phelps took second in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 2:08.72. Phelps also placed second in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:15.41.

Rachel Del Angel took fifth in the 50 Free with a time of 24.94. Del Angel also finished sixth in the 100 Fly with a time of 59.80.

Jameson Tankersly placed sixth in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:02.07, missing the top five by less than half a second.

The Women’s 400 Free Relay squad of Britta Andruss, Keilee Holcomb, Del Angel, and Taylor Linzay placed fifth in the event with a time of 3:42.19.

Men

The Tigershark men posted seven event wins at Saturday’s meet.

Sam Ragsdell won the 50 Freestyle with a time of 21.31 and also won the 100 Free with a time of 46.09.

Daniel Meszaros won the 200 Free (1:41.10) and the 500 Free with a time of 4:40.48.

Michael Higgins won the 100 Butterfly with a time of 50.84. Higgins also placed third in the 50 Free (21.56).

The Men’s 200 Medley Relay squad of Anthony Paculba, Miles Schulze, David Ware, and Ragsdell took first with a time of 1:34.46.

The Men’s 400 Free Relay squad of Meszaros, Ragsdell, Vince Pal, and James Savarese won with a time of 3:05.54.

Other Top Performers for the Tigers were:

• Tyler Andruss placed second in the 200 Free with a time of 1:44.11. Andruss also finished second in the 500 Free with a time of 4:47.50.
• Zsombor Bujdoso took second in the 200 Breaststroke (2:09.28) and placed third in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 59.87.
• Vince Pal took second in the 200 Fly (1:58.53) and third in the 100 Fly with a time of 52.34.
• Anthony Paculba took second in the 200 Back (1:53.56) and placed third in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 52.86.
• Miles Schulze finished second in the 100 Breaststroke (58.67). Schulze also placed third in the 200 Breaststroke (2:09.72) and the 100 IM with a time of 55.27.
• Colton Martinez finished third in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:01.33.
• David Ware placed third in the 200 Back with a time of 1:59.03.

The Tigersharks will be back in action with their first home meet of the season when they host the Eagles of Oklahoma Christian on Friday, October 11 at Waggoner Pool in Arkadelphia at 4 p.m.