CHAPEL HILL, N.C.? Junior Jenny Bradford eclipsed her personal best time in the 50-freestyle on her way to setting a Maurice J. Koury pool record to lead the Wildcats in the first day of the Nike Cup Invitational.
Upon completion of day one of the Invitational, the Kentucky women hold fourth place with a total of 181 points. The men are currently in second place with 207 points, edging Clemson who has 203. Florida State?s men and women are both atop the leaderboard. The men earned 402 points for a commanding lead, while the women claimed 260 points. Kentucky does not have any men or women divers participating in the meet.
Bradford earned a first place finish, the only individual win on the night for the Wildcats, when she clocked in a time of 22.09 in the 50-free edging her previous best time of 22.10. The mark is also the new No. 1 time in the all-time UK record books. Bradford?s time automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Championships as the time is an ?A? cut.
Her twin sister, Heather, claimed fourth place in the same event touching in a time of 23.11. Classmate Lauren Willis earned fifth tapping in a time of 23.42 earning her sixth place on UK?s all-time top-10 list. Both times are ‘B’ cut standards for the NCAA Championships. Concluding a stellar performance by the Cats in the 50-free senior Nikia Deveaux and junior Beth Parsons each achieved personal-best times in the event as they placed 13th and 17th. Their times were 23.71 and 23.97 respectively.
Continuing with the women, the Lady Wildcats began the evening with a first place finish in the 200-free relay. Heather Bradford, Willis, Deveaux and Jenny Bradford tapped in a time of 1:31.73 to claim the event. The Wildcats’ impressive finish also was good enough for an NCAA ‘B’ cut.
In the 500-free sophomore Haleigh Kerns took the top spot for Kentucky. Kerns touched in ninth place, clocking in a time of 4:56.66. Classmates Leah Harms and Kristina Sledge earned 17th and 18th respectively, in times of 5:00.80 and 5:01.99. Harms? time is a new personal best.
Junior Lindsay Myhre continued her strong start, taking ninth in the 200-individual medley, touching in 2:06.54. Freshman Casey Miller claimed a 19th place finish with a time of 2:07.99.
The women concluded the evening taking second in the 400-medley relay. Sophomore Keli Hnat, Miller, freshman Megan Pulskamp, and Willis earned a 3:44.98 time, finishing just behind Florida State.
The wealth of good fortunes occurred on the men?s side as well. Ten Kentucky swimmers set new collegiate life-time best times in the finals. Much like the women, the men enjoyed a dominating performance in the 50-free as each swimmer achieved a personal best time.
Sophomore Warren Grobbelaar earned the highest finish of any Cat placing fifth in a time of 20.65. Freshman Eric McGinnis clocked in right behind his teammate, placing sixth in a time of 20.75. Sophomore Shane Eliason took seventh in 20.85. Freshman Alex Forbes tapped in 14th in 21.02, sophomore Lance Bowman tied for 17th in 21.20, and freshman Chris Richard concluded the men?s scoring in the event with a 19th place finish with a time of 21.26.
Four men placed in the 500-free, led by sophomore James Batley. Batley clocked in 4:29.09, good for sixth place. Junior Grant Nelson claimed eighth in a time of 4:32.80. Freshmen Kyle Greene and Marco Iemmola rounded out the scoring taking 16th and 18th in times of 4:35.77 and 4:39.42 respectively.
Sophomore Mickey Malul touched in sixth place in the 200-individual medley, clocking in a time of 1:53.02, a new personal best time. Classmate Joe Retrum also earned a new best time touching in 11th place in a time of 1:54.01. Junior Kristian Outinen took 14th in the event tapping in a time of 1:53.98.
The Wildcat men finished in second in both relay events behind Florida State. The 200-free relay team comprised of McGinnis, Grobbelaar, Forbes and Eliason tapped in a time of 1:21.63. Eliason, Malul, Grobbelaar and McGinnis earned a 3:19.65 time in the 400-medley relay.
Kentucky resumes action in the Nike Cup Invitational with another set of preliminary races set to being at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Final races will occur at 6 p.m., with Saturday following the same schedule.
