COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior Kara Kopcso broke the program record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.55 to open up the Art Adamson Invitational Thursday at Texas A&M’s Student Recreation Center.
Kopcso finished third in the event with her record performance. She bested her previous record time of 1:57.31, which was set at NCAA Championships last season.
“I thought Kara had a special swim in her tonight. I didn’t expect that type of performance at this point in the season,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “She has grown as an athlete so well over the past year or so and it is evident tonight.”
The LSU men won four of six events, book ended by victories in relays. Joao Mescolote, Tyler Harper, Devin McCaffrey and Alex Linge led things off with a time of 1:19.41 in the 200 free relay. Brandon Goldman, Silas Dejean, Logan Rysemus and Linge closed things out with a win in the 400-medley relay (3:11.01).
“The men are starting to find their identity at the right time,” Geyer added. “Opening up with a relay win set the tone for the session and they finished the night with the same message.”
In addition to their relay wins, Goldman and Linge each touched the wall first in their individual events. Goldman took first in the 200 IM with the third-fastest time in school history (1:46.46). Linge also swam a personal-best time of 20.01 for a win in the 50 free.
Harper finished second in the consolation final of the 50 free (20.43). McCaffrey finished second in the bonus final with a personal-best time of 20.43. In the consolation final of the 200 IM, freshman William Arthur finished eighth with a time of 1:51.47.
On the women’s side, Leah Troskot finished fourth in the championship final of the 50 free with a personal-best time of 22.67. Freshman Haylee Knight finished fifth in the consolation final with a time of 23.16 and senior Megan Cox finished fourth in the bonus final with a time of 23.38.
In addition to Kopcso’s performance, Colleen O’Neil finished fourth in the ‘B’ final of the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.01. Sophie Weber also touched the wall first in the ‘C’ final of the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.15.
Junior Devon Dabney finished first in the ‘B’ final of the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:48.02. Senior Stacey Stanfield also finished sixth in the ‘B’ final with a time of 4:52.48.
The team of Knight, O’Neil, Kopcso and Troskot closed out the night for the women with a fourth-place finish in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:37.79.
“As a whole, I think we made good adjustments from the long course prelims to short course finals. We will definitely get better at that as the weekend rolls forward,” Geyer said.
The divers on the women’s side also found success as the Lady Tigers finished in three of the top four spots on three-meter. Senior Cassie Weil led the way with a second-place finish with a score of 343.55. Madison Sthamann and Allie Alter followed in third and fourth place with scores of 286.80 and 276.20 respectively.
A full recap will be available on lsusports.net at the conclusion of each day. For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.
ORDER OF EVENTS
Women events are odd numbers and men events are even numbers
Friday:
13/14: 200 Medley Relay
15/16: 400 I. M.
17/18: 100 Butterfly
19/20: 200 Freestyle
21/22: 100 Breaststroke
23/24: 100 Backstroke
25/26: Diving
27/28: 800 Freestyle Relay
Saturday:
29/30: Platform Diving
31/32: 1650 Freestyle
33/34: 200 Backstroke
35/36: 100 Freestyle
37/38: 200 Breaststroke
39/40: 200 Butterfly
41/42: 400 Freestyle Relay