Razorbacks wrap up first day in College Station

Arkansas wrapped up the first day of the Art Adamson Invitational in College Station, Texas, on Thursday.

“We competed well today and had over 15 lifetime bests,” said coach Neil Harper. “To see three divers compete in the finals and for Brooke and Nicole to get first and second was great. For our team to have that success today is very encouraging, especially seeing their hard work paying off. We are excited about our events and opportunities tomorrow.”

In the morning prelims, Arkansas placed two in Thursday’s finals in the 500 free, as freshman Peyton Palsha touched in a personal-best 4:45.02 to qualify for the B-final. Sophomore Ayumi Macias turned in a season-best 4:47.77 to qualify for an appearance in the C-final. Freshman Alyssa Lemon also swam in the 500 free prelims, recording a personal-best 4:55.97.

In the finals, Palsha touched in the B-final in 4:45.25 for a fifth-place finish in the heat, finishing 13th overall. In the C-final, Macias finished fifth as well, touching in 4:49.10.

Arkansas qualified four in the 200 individual medley finals, with three running in the C-final and one in the D-final. Senior Chelsea Tatlow swam a season-best 1:59.52 to finish first among the Razorbacks in prelims. Senior Jessie Garrison and junior Sydney Angell each qualified for the C-final, clocking a personal-bests 1:59.85 and 2:00.53, respectively.

Senior Chloe Hannam qualified for the D-final with a season-best 2:02.12. Madison Strathman (2:04.70), Madison Umberger (2:04.79) and Maddie Edwards (2:07.84) all set season bests in the 200 IM, while Katiana Porporis set a personal best with a time of 2:04.84. Five Razorbacks clocked a season best, while the other three set a season and personal best.

In the 200 IM C-final, Tatlow led the Razorbacks with a third-place finish in a time of 1:58.69, breaking her season-best she set in the prelims. Angell followed in fourth in 1:59.84, breaking her personal-best that she also set in the prelims. Garrison rounded out the C-final for the Razorbacks, touching in 2:00.13. In the D-final, Hannam clocked a personal-best 2:00.21 to win the heat.

In the 50 free, senior Olivia Weekley finished the prelims in 13th with a season-best 23.05, qualifying for the B-final, while junior Annah Carney made the cut for the C-final with a personal-best 23.15. Juniors Erin Kelly and Kiera Michailoff-Russell tied for 29th with personal-best times of 23.37, qualifying for the D-final.

Freshman Kenedy Thaman (23.49) and sophomore Carly Holland (2.378) each recorded personal bests, while Lemon tied her personal best with a time of 24.11. Sophomore Dalton Chambliss turned in a season-best 23.98.

In the B-final, Weekley finished fourth in 22.93, breaking her personal best she set in the prelims. In the C-final, Carney touched in 23.38 for an eighth-place showing.

Freshman Brooke Schultz dominated on the boards once again. The three-time SEC Diver of the Week, cruised in the 3m springboard prelims with a score of 362.15. Senior Nicole Gillis followed Schultz, finishing second in the prelims with a season-best 339.35. Arkansas sent three divers to the finals, as sophomore Caroline Welch finished seventh in prelims with a score of 284.90.

Schultz and Gillis repeated their efforts in the finals, going first and second, respectively, as Schultz broke her own school record with a lifetime-best 370.95. Schultz outscored the field by 47.2 points as Gillis finished with a 323.75. Welch finished eighth with a 266.50.

In the relays, Arkansas finished 10th (1:32.15), 15th (1:34.17) and 21st (1:34.97) in the 200 free relay, while touching in 10th (3:40.26) and 20th  (3:48.40) in the 400 medley relay.

Friday’s action begins at 9:30 a.m. and evening finals at 6 p.m. Diving preliminaries and some finals will occur between the morning and evening swim sessions with one diving final in the evening session.

Live swimming results will be available here, while much of the meet will be on SEC Network+ and can viewed with the WatchESPN app. Diving results will be available here.

SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 17
200 Medley Relay
400 Individual Medley (Hannam, Garrison, Macias, Palsha, Umberger, Porporis)
100 Butterfly (Weekley, Garrison, Pigliacampi, Weiss, Chambliss, Hale, Degnan, Torkelson, Roberts, Holland)
200 Freestyle (Macias, Tatlow, Carney, Lemon, Michailoff-Russell, Thaman, Gregson, Kelly, Holland)
100 Breaststroke (Strathman, Edwards, Hale, Angell)
100 Backstroke (Tatlow, Angell, Umberger, Degnan, Hannam, Chambliss, Gregson, Porporis, Holland, Torkelson)
3-Meter Diving (Gillis, Green, Schultz, Welch)
800 Freestyle Relay

Saturday, Nov. 18
Platform (Gillis, Green, Welch)
1650 Freestyle (Macias, Palsha, Lemon)
200 Backstroke (Hannam, Umberger, Degnan, Porporis, Macias, Holland, Torkelson)
100 Freestyle (Weekley, Pigliacampi, Thaman, Chambliss, Kelly, Carney, Michailoff-Russell, Gregson, Lemon, Strathman)
200 Breaststroke (Strathman, Angell, Palsha, Edwards, Hale)
200 Butterfly (Tatlow, Garrison, Weiss, Pigliacampi, Roberts, Degnan)
400 Freestyle Relay