03 Mar 2025 UALR swimmer wins Diving Freshman of the Year
WAUKEE, IA. — On March 1, the Trojans shattered two individual school records, showcasing their strength at the Little Rock swimming and diving team’s conference championship. The team also celebrated Delaney Nickles, who earned the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year award.The team had 10 swimmers score points in the final session of the meet. Their strong finish resulted in a final team score of 791 points, marking Little Rock’s highest point total in program history.
The Trojans secured a sixth-place finish in the nine-team field and bid farewell to eight seniors competing in their final conference championships: Lara Alsader, Kyra Apodaca, Gillian Boggs, Jaelle Carlson, Lucy Jahn, Olivia Henderson, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Caitlin Romprey, and Devin Trammell.
Saturday Results | Final Team Scores
“It was a hard fought battle on the last day of MVCs. The last day of conference really showed how competitive our sport has become so we had to rise to the occasion during today’s prelims session. We had several finals swims today and a couple of school records to finish out our conference championship.” said head coach Nathan Townsend.
“We’re taking a strong group that qualified for NICs a week from Tuesday so we will get back to work and look to finish our season in Ocala, FL. Go Trojans!”
400 Freestyle Relay
The squad of Olivia Elgin, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Gabriella O’Neil and Jaelle Carlson closed the meet with a massive 3:20.78, just off the school record. Carlson lit up the pool with a 49.00 anchor leg, while all three Trojans were under 52 seconds, including Elgin’s lead-off 50.03. The team took fourth overall.
200 Backstroke
In the B final, Caitlin Romprey took 15th overall swimming into the wall in a 2:04.20. She was joined by classmate Beatriz Comini Romero, who competed in the C final and not only shaved off two seconds at night down to 2:03.11 but also moved up to 18th overall.
100 Freestyle
In another strong event for Little Rock, four Trojans advanced to the evening finals, earning crucial team points. Jaelle was unstoppable, surging to the wall in a blazing 49.36 to set a new school record and secure second place. Elgin tied for sixth place, lowering her own personal best to 49.78, which ranks third on the program’s all-time list.
Elena Nikolaeva competed in the B final, marking her third final of the meet. She finished 13th overall, with her prelims time placing her seventh on the program’s all-time list.
200 Breaststroke
A second individual school record was broken by sophomore Adara Stoddard, who touched the wall in 2:16.43 to surpass her own previously held record and secure sixth place overall. Fifth-year senior Gabriella O’Neil clocked a time of 2:18.92, finishing eighth to round out the A final.
In the B final, senior Gillian Boggs delivered an incredible swim, setting a new personal best of 2:18.47 to finish 11th overall, which places her fifth on the program’s all-time list. Freshman Anna Nishizaki also had a strong evening swim, finishing 14th overall with a time of 2:19.05.
200 Butterfly
In the C final, freshman Brooke Cummongs was the lone Trojan in the event, finishing 24th overall. She improved upon her morning swim, touching the wall in 2:09.54.
1650 Freestyle
Izzy Thibodeau led the way for the Trojans in the longest pool event, finishing 21st with a time of 18:03.81.
Up Next
Several Trojans qualified for the CSCAA National Invitational Championships and will race next week in Ocala, Fla., from March 10-12. Learn more about the meet here.
Team Scores
1. Indiana State
2. Southern Illinois
3. Missouri State
4. UNI
5. UIC
6. Little Rock
7. Illinois State
8. Evansville
9. Valparaiso
For the latest information on Little Rock Swimming and Diving, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com.
