Freshman Poole Secures Third U.S. Olympic Team Trials Cut
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Easing into the new year, the NR/No. 13 University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming teams competed in a long-course meters exhibition format against Ohio State on Friday evening. Freshman Lauren Poole recorded a 4:51.14 in the 400-meter individual medley to defeat the eight-person field and earn a 2020 U.S. Olympic Team trials cut, her third U.S. Olympic Team trials cut and the Wildcats’ 40th overall.
The dual meet features a unique format, including a long-course meters exhibition Friday evening and a short-course yards competition Saturday morning. The meters exhibition is an opportunity for swimmers to earn 2020 U.S. Olympic Team trial cuts, while scores from the short-course yards competition are the only scores that will be compared in the dual meet.
Saturday’s dual meet will begin at 10 a.m. ET inside the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Saturday’s schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Jan. 4 (SCY)
Platform
200 medley relay
1000 free
200 free
100 back
100 breast
200 fly
50 free
Break
100 free
200 back
200 breast
500 free
100 fly
Break
200 IM
400 free relay
While the swimming portion of the evening competed in an exhibition format, Kentucky’s men’s and women’s divers got an early jump on the competitive portion of the dual meet. Friday evening, sophomore Kyndal Knight defeated the 1-meter springboard field (nine-person field) with a score of 278.78.
It’s Knight’s fourth victory on the 1m discipline this season, and her fourth-best 1m score this season. The sophomore from Stanley, North Carolina, holds all four of Kentucky’s top-four scores on the 1m springboard thus far.
Sophomore Danny Zhang collected a pair of top-three finishes on the springboard of his own. He rallied a second-place finish on the men’s 3m with a score of 372.83, his third-best mark on the discipline this season. He also grabbed third place on the men’s 1m with a score of 313.28 points, his fourth-best mark of the season.
The diving competition will resume Saturday at 10 a.m. with the platform competition.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
