COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Freshman Thomas Smith won the championship final of the 200 back with a school-record time of 1:42.77 to lead the Tigers on the final day of the Art Adamson Invitational at Texas A&M’s Student Recreation Center.
“Thomas set the tone for us tonight,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “There were three personal bests in the 200 back, and I think it got our men excited. This was a great meet for them. They came out of three days of competition with an identity and purpose for moving forward.”
In addition to Smith’s record-breaking performance, freshmen Harrison Jones and Alarii-Levreault Lopez finished third and fourth respectively in the championship final of the 200 fly. Jones’ time of 1:47.25 and Levreault-Lopez’s time of 1:47.57 were enough for fifth and sixth respectively on LSU’s all-time list.
To begin the evening, Madison Sthamann finished first on platform with a score of 262.50. It marked the third win in a row on platform at the Art Adamson Invitational for a Lady Tiger diver. Senior Cassie Weil also finished second on platform for LSU.
Senior Danielle Stirrat opened the night by finishing fifth in the championship final of the 200 back with a time of 1:55.18. Senior Sophie Weber also finished eighth in the event. Caley Oquist finished fourth and Makenna Wilson finished seventh in the consolation final.
Also in the 200 back, Logan Rysemus won the consolation final with a time of 1:45.19
In the 100 free championship final, Leah Troskot touched the wall third with a time of 48.64. Senior Megan Cox also finished fourth in the consolation final with a mark of 49.93.
Senior Alex Linge just finished second in the championship final of the 100 free with a time of 43.56. Sophomore Jake Markham earned the win and Tyler Harper finished fourth in the consolation final. Joao Mescolote and Braydon Bergeron also finished in first and second respectively in the bonus final.
Colleen O’Neil and Taryn MacKenzie finished second and fifth respectively in the consolation final of the 200 breast. O’Neil earned a time of 2:13.13 and MacKenzie finished with a time of 2:16.18.
To close out the individual events, Kara Kopcso finished second in the championship final of the 200 fly with a time of 1:55.50.
In the final relay event of the invite, the 400 free, the team of Troskot, Cox, Stirrat and Haylee Knight finished third with a time of 3:16.74.
“Our women raced for three days against two of the best teams in the NCAA, and it really prepared us for the greatest conference championship in the country in February,” Geyer added. “We had a lot of women step up and put up season and lifetime bests.”
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