Galyer Breaks 200 IM Record as UK Opens OSU Invite
Day 1 Results | 
Jorgensen and Galyer Recap Day 1
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Led by a school-record from sophomore Danielle Galyer to win the 200 individual medley, the Kentucky swimming and diving team placed 19 in the top 10 in 11 events on the first day of the Ohio State Invitational Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
After the first day of the five-team Ohio State Invitational, the UK women are in second place with 266 points, while the men are fourth with 128 points. Purdue leads the seven-team women’s field with 291.5 points, with Ohio State on top of the men’s standings with 437.5.
Along with Galyer, fellow sophomore Kendal Casey posted a win in the women’s 500 freestyle, recording the second-fastest time in program history.
Led by Galyer and Casey, UK swimmers posted seven times that rank among the top 10 in school history. Four of those, including Galyer’s win, came in the women’s 200 individual medley.
“Today was a lot of fun,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “We had some good races today, in particular tonight in the finals. We came out really well. Danielle’s school record was awesome, she’s just really developing into a really solid IM swimmer. We had some new swimmers step up, so overall it was a great day for us.”
UK’s strongest event was the women’s 200 individual medley, where the Wildcats placed four in the top nine, all with times that rank in the top seven in program history. Along with Galyer’s school-record 1:58.49 to win the event, freshman Morgan Belli finished second with a 2:01.51, a personal-record and the third-fastest time in school history. Junior Frida Jakobsson was fifth in 2:01.88, also a personal-best and the fourth-fastest time in UK history. Freshman Bridgette Alexander placed ninth in 2:02.93 to record the ninth-best time in team history. Galyer and Belli each posted NCAA B qualifying times.
Casey gave UK its first win of the day in the women’s 500 freestyle with a 4:43.61. The second-fastest time in program history, Casey shattered her career-high by 2.01 seconds to win by 0.44 seconds. Senior Abby Myers placed sixth overall in 4:48.74, the seventh-fastest time in school history, while sophomore Kelly Berger touched the wall in 4:49.86.
Senior Christina Bechtel notched a runner-up finish in the women’s 50 freestyle. The senior finished in 22.43, a personal-best time and the third-fastest in team history. The time also gave Bechtel an NCAA B qualifying time.
In the men’s 500 freestyle, UK placed third, fourth and fifth, all with season-best times. Sophomore Brandon Flynn led the way for UK with a 4:25.47, while freshman Isaac Jones’ career-best 4:25.79 earned him a fourth-place finish. Sophomore Drew Aviotti finished fifth in 4:29.56.
In the diving events, senior Christa Cabot placed sixth on 3-meter with a 286.75. Fellow senior Lindsay Keahey finished 11th with a 273.95, while Rebecca Hamperian was 14th with a 254.45. Freshman Levi Lindsey led the Wildcats on 1-meter with a 256.75 to finish 16th.
Sophomore Sean Gunn advanced to the A final in the 50 freestyle with a 20.86 and placed 10th overall with a finals time of 21.06.
Sophomore Kyle Higgins notched UK’s best finish in the men’s 200 individual medley, with a season-best 1:52.52 to finish 17th overall.
The three-day Ohio State Invitational continues Saturday, with swimming prelims beginning at 8:30 a.m., diving at 2 p.m. and finals at 6:30 p.m. Sunday’s events begin at 9 a.m., while diving will be at 11 a.m. and finals at 3 p.m.
Fans can follow along with live results from the Ohio State Invite on OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Additional updates and behind-the-scenes news and notes can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive.
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Swimming and Diving program, go to UKathletics.com/SwimmingDiving. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates, photos and more can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive.
