Jan. 6, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s been nearly two months since the Kentucky swimming and diving teams were in action. Wednesday, the Blue and White will hit the water again when they open the 2009 portion of their schedule at SEC-foe LSU.
Both Kentucky teams are coming off third place finishes in the Tennessee Invitational in their last meet in November. Several of Kentucky’s athletes posted big weekends for the Wildcats, including Jessie Snowden, Megan Pulskamp and Joe Retrum. On the women’s side, Snowden tacked on career-best scores in the three-meter and platform diving events and took home first-place honors on all three boards. Junior Megan Pulskamp finished with three second-place finishes. Her first came in the 50-freestyle where she recorded a career-best and season-best time for the Wildcats. She also finished second in the 200-butterfly and as a member of the 200-freestyle relay team. For the men, senior Joe Retrum set a career-best time finishing second in the 200-butterfly. Retrum also qualified as an NCAA “B” cut participant.The fall was an incredibly successful start to the Wildcats ever important 2009 season. The Blue and White as a group have charted some of the team’s best times in the early portion of the season in recent years. Many Wildcats have earned career-best clips and the UK freshmen have emerged quickly as forces to be reckoned with for years to come.
On the women’s side, Pulskamp, Kelsi Hall, Chelsea Peterson, Claire Archibald and Snowden have all cracked the all-time top-10 list in UK allure. Pulskamp earned her career-best time and sixth place in the 50-free list with a time of 23.13. She also matched her career-best time in the 100-fly with a mark of 54.23. Snowden has set career-best scores in both the one-meter and platform to open the year. Her one-meter and platform scores are both the second best scores in school history.
Freshmen Archibald, Hall and Peterson have all already cracked the UK record books with just a mere five collegiate meets under their belts. Archibald ranks fifth in the 100-back, 200-back and 200-IM. Hall is eighth all-time in the 50-free and 10th in the 100-breast. Peterson emerged in the ninth slot in the 100-free.
For the men, in addition to Retrum, Shane Eliason, Morne’ Boshoff, Grant Cooksey, Eric McGinnis, Adam Twer, Elvis Burrows and Travis Muzzillo have all earned career-best times and a spot on the all-time top-10 list.
Retrum posted the fifth best time in school allure with his record-setting 200-fly swim. Veteran Eliason captured best times and fifth place in the 100-fly and eight place in the 100-free. Burrows and Muzzillo tapped in with the seventh and eighth best times in the 100-fly in UK history, while McGinnis claimed ninth in the 100-breast.
Freshmen Boshoff, Cooksey and Twer have all earned spots on Kentucky’s charts. Boshoff owns third in the 1650-free and seventh in the 500-free. He is the first UK swimmer since 2006 to earn a spot on the 1650-free list. Cooksey holds the sixth best and seventh best times in the 100- and 200-breaststroke, respectively. Twer holds the eight best time in the 200-back with a clip of 1:50.26.
A complete recap following the meet can be found at Kentucky’s homepage on UKathletics.com.
