LSU
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."
The LSU women finished in third place, behind Texas A&M and Stanford, with a score of 572.5. The men finished fourth with a score of 652.
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."
The LSU swimming and diving team takes off from combined competition over the next month. The divers travel compete at the Auburn Diving Invitational Dec. 16-18 and the Georgia Diving Invitational Jan. 3-5. The next full squad meet will be Jan.8-9 against Kentucky and Virginia Tech in Lexington, Kentucky.
Utah
The University of Utah swimming and diving team finished the third and final day at the Art Adamson Invitational. The Utes had a successful weekend with 22 NCAA qualifying times, two school records set and a men’s team title.
“This was an exciting day,” said Utah head coach Joe Dykstra. “Our women’s team fought really hard and had a chance to finish fourth going into that final relay. Our men’s team had a huge third day. To come in here and beat the hosts, Texas A&M, I can’t begin to say how proud I am of the effort and spirit they showed today."
“Our divers also did a great job; Amanda Casillas finished third on the platform and Jacob Crayne finished fifth. We hit a bunch of NCAA standards. I couldn’t be more excited for the men’s team to come in hear and knock off a field that consisted of SEC and Pac-12 teams as well as a really good Air Force team. It is a great accomplishment and this will help boost us into the second half of the year.”
MEN
Bence Kiraly continued his impressive weekend by winning the 1650 free in 14:50.19. Jay Bolinger finished third with a time of 15:21.23 and Peter Kotson also reached the finals, placing eighth in 15:31.73. Kiraly then joined Daniel McArthur, Kristian Kron and Sean Bloore in the 400 free relay as the Utes took third place (2:58.61).
In the men’s 200 back, Daniel McArthur narrowly missed out on another Ute victory, placing second in 1:43.15. Kristian Kron was right behind him in third (1:44.35) while Cole Avery (1:48.53) and Shreeve (1:50.12) rounded out the finals field. Paul Ungur and Brandon Deckard each reached the consolation final and finished with times of 1:48.07 and 1:48.11 respectively
The Utes came agonizingly close in two other races, the 200 breast and 200 fly. Jack Burton was second in the breast with a time of 1:56.80 with Ganem Tebet placing seventh (2:01.31). In the fly, Kron was the runner-up with a time of 1:47.02 with Luis Macias placing sixth (1:49.04) and Dave Fraser going seventh (1:49.53).
On the board, Jacob Crayne placed fifth while teammates Keaton Quinn and Connor Cain were 12th and 13th respectively.
WOMEN
Amanda Casillas finished third in the platform diving event and Stina Colleou had Utah’s best finish in the pool, placing fourth in the 200 breast with a time of 2:10.87. Genevieve Robertson also reached the finals of the 200 breast and finished sixth (2:12.21) while Brianna Francis was third in the consolation final with a time of 2:14.90.
The Utes also out two swimmers in the 1650 with Jordan Anderson finishing fifth (16:34.43) and Kat Wickham placing eighth (16:49.79). Maryssa McArthur took part in the consolation final with a time of 17:07.67
In the 200 fly, Isabella Kearns reached the final and earned a seventh-place finish with a time of 2:02.51. Anderson was third in the consolation final with a time of 2:00.08. Megan Kawaguchi captured the bonus final of the 200 back with a time of 1:59.62.
In the 400 free relay, Jenna Marsh, Gillian St. John, Dorien Butter and Ashlyn Karosas were 14th (3:24.79).
The women take a break for competition until 2016 while the men swim against Wyoming on Dec. 5.
Air Force
The Air Force men’s swimming and diving team placed third at the Art Adamson/Texas A & M Invitational, finishing ahead of SEC power LSU and PAC-12 member Arizona State, Saturday, Nov. 21, in College Station, Texas. Utah won the meet with 838 points, followed by Texas A&M (777.5), Air Force (701), LSU (652), Arizona State (419), SMU (308) and TCU (177.5).
In the first event of the final day, the 1650 free, four Falcons placed as Kevin Jackson was second (14:50.19), Garrett Glaudini was fifth (15:30.72), Andrew Faciszewski was seventh (15:31.34) and Collin Green was ninth (15:31.73). In the 200 backstroke, Kristopher Tillery was sixth (1:47.25).
Two Falcons swam in the “A” final of the 100 free as Jordan Dahle was third (44.41) and Steffen Mount was fourth (44.63). Michael Barnosky was ninth in the 200 breast stroke with an NCAA “B” time of 1:56.89. Sean Ledford placed ninth in the 200 fly with an NCAA “B” cut of 1:47.58.
In platform diving, A.J. Eckebrecht was fourth with 315.30 points.
In the final event of the day, the 400 free relay, the team of Steffen Mount, George Frank, Michael Hannigan and Jordan Dahle was second with a time of 2:56.33.
“What an incredible night for us,” head coach Rob Clayton said. “The guys were unbelievable. It’s been a long month of travel and I could see the guys were pretty tired, but we kept battling. The guys really rallied to pass LSU and get third. It was a terrific last relay. Michael Barnosky set a service academy record in the 100 breast with a time that should get him invited to the NCAAs. The mile was really a key event for us, going second, fifth seventh and ninth.”
The Falcons are now off until the Orange Bowl Classic, Jan 3, in Key Largo, Fla.
SMU Men
Bartosz Krzyzaniak wrapped up a successful outing at the Art Adamson Invitational with an NCAA B cut in the 200-yard backstroke to lead the SMU Men's swimming and diving team on Saturday night. The sophomore won the Bonus final with a 1:46.13, which was good for the seventh fastest time in finals. The Mustangs finished with a team score of 308 placing them sixth overall.
Krzyzaniak was one of three swimmers representing SMU in the event, as Brandon Norman finished fifth and Kianu Kitching placed eighth.
SMU continued its success in relays, finishing the event with a fifth-place and season-best time of 3:01.37 in the 400-yard freestyle from Krzyzaniak, Ziga Cerkovnik, Sam Straughan and Christian Scherubl.
In distance action, Scherubl, Lucas Schenke and Matthew Colket scored for the Mustangs finishing sixth, 14th and 16th, respectively, in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Scherubl also earned runner-up honors in the Consolation Final of the 100-yard freestyle, touching in 44.91, while Schenke was eighth in the Bonus Final at 46.54.
Consolation performances were also turned in by Stefan Popov in the 200-yard breaststroke and Garrett Carson in the 200-yard butterfly. Popov clocked a 2:02.41 for fifth place, and Carson was sixth with a time of 1:51.77.
Parker Meinecke, Daniel Pitts and Parker Holloway competed in platform diving finals finishing eighth, 11th and 14th, respectively.
Mustangs divers return to action for the Georgia Diving Invite Jan. 3-5, and the team returns to action Jan. 12 when they travel to face Incarnate Word.
SMU Women
Kathleen Charron, Marne Erasmus and Anna Cheesbrough all posted career-best times in butterfly action on the final night of the three-day Art Adamson Invitational in College Station, Texas. The women's swimming and diving team finished the highly competitive 10-team event in seventh place, posting 174 team points.
Cheesbrough led the trio with a fifth-place performance in the Consolation Final, clocking a 2:00.70, which is just shy of the NCAA B standard. Erasmus (2:01.01) and Charron (2:06.01) competed in Bonus Finals, each besting times posted during the 2014-15 season.
Anna Volchkov (200 back), Vicky Cunningham (100 free), Adri Santa (100 free) and Kirsty McLauchlan (200 breast) also represented the Ponies in Consolation Finals, with Volchkov placing fifth, Cunningham and McLauchlan finishing seventh and Santa eighth.
SMU picked up yet another top-10 relay finish at the event, this time clocking in at 3:21.74 for ninth in the 400-yard freestyle. Hannah Rogers, Santa, Maddie Hoch and Cunningham's performance was a personal best for the Mustangs this season.
Lauren Lamb represented the Mustangs in diving action at the Invite, competing in preliminary action of the 1- and 3-meter events, and placing 18th in the platform final.
Select Mustangs will compete at USA Nationals Dec. 3-5 in Seattle, Washington, while the team returns to the pool Jan. 9 for dual action at Texas A&M.
Boise State
The final day of the Art Adamson Invitational at Texas A&M featured a strong diving effort on platform from the Boise State divers, while the Bronco 400 free relay quartet hit the team’s first relay B cut of the campaign.
Overall, Boise State finished fourth out of 10 teams in the team standings, scoring 340.5 points. Texas A&M (1,166), Stanford (833) and LSU (572.5) were the top three schools at the meet.
Kacee Olson ended her weekend with a third-straight top-eight finish, taking seventh on platform with a score of 210.00. Kiley Carlson also got into the top eight, finishing eighth with a score of 209.50, while Jordan Marthens took ninth (202.00) and Karli Kriewall 12th (200.05).
Boise State’s 400 free relay of Brittany Aoyama, Sam Wicks, Katelyn Martin and Emma Chard took fourth to close the meet, just sneaking under the NCAA B cut line with a time of 3:17.41. That time is also the second-fastest in school history, just 0.53 of a second the record 3:16.88 of the Mountain West champion quartet of Wicks, Aoyama, Martin and Jessica Bottelberghe in February 2015.
Wicks established the new school record in the 200 back and posted her third NCAA B cut of the meet Saturday, winning the B Final in 1:54.24. That time bested the previous record of 1:56.20 set by Nikki Cannon at last year’s Mountain West Championships.
Boise State placed three swimmers in the top 16 of the 1,650 free, led by Amelia Draney taking seventh with a time of 16:38.81, fourth-fastest in school history. Blake Balogh (17:04.57) finished 11th, right ahead of Mandy Barnes (17:04.84).
Emily Mathis turned in another top-16 finish for the Broncos, this one a 14th-place effort in the 200 breast (2:17.20).
Chard just missed a B cut in the 100 free, winning the C Final in 50.26, just 0.27 of a second over the cut line. Aoyama missed a B cut of her own in the 200 fly, winning the C Final in 2:00.67, just 0.68 off the cut line.
Boise State returns to action after the New Year, heading to San Diego to face UC San Diego, UNLV and Grand Canyon Jan. 2.
