Three Gold Finishes, One School Record in Second Night of Fall Invite

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Friday performances at the Ohio State Fall Invite were nothing short of entertaining as the No. 21/15 University of Kentucky men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams collected three gold finishes and broke a school record. In the process, the team met three new U.S. Olympic Trials standards and 15 individual NCAA “B” time standards.
 
“It’s been a great day for the Wildcats here at Ohio State,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “It’s a great mark for us, being the middle of the season, to see where we are at. We had 15 individual “B” cuts today between the men and the women, which I was really happy with. Ali Galyer had a fantastic meet, she stepped up in the 200 freestyle. All the backstrokers were really good, and the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay is the top time in the country right now.
 
“A lot of the guys stepped up, too. I am really happy with the quality of the men’s competition. We want to see some even better performances tomorrow as we close out this midseason meet.”
 
Senior Asia Seidt has won both of her individual events thus far in the meet. The senior took first place in the 200-yard individual medley on Thursday night, following that up with a first-place performance in the 100-yard backstroke on Friday night. The Louisville native defeated the 40-person field in 51.58, recording the second-fastest time in the nation to date.
 
Seidt led a 1-2-3 sweep in the event, as freshman Caitlin Brooks finished in second (52.21) and senior Ali Galyer took third (53.07). Galyer earned a first-place finish of her own, topping the 40-person 200-yard freestyle field in 1:44.64, which led the nation at the time she recorded it.
 
Closing the night on a high note, Seidt and Galyer helped the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay team earn first place with a nation-leading time of 7:01.40. Seidt swam the lead leg in 1:44.92, followed by freshman Beth McNeese in 1:46.80, then sophomore Riley Gaines in 1:45.13 and anchored by Galyer in 1:44.55.
 
Freshman Gillian Davey had a pair of spectacular morning performances. In the 400-meter individual medley, she defeated a field of 43 swimmers to earn the top seed in 4:48.26. The time also marked her second new U.S. Olympic Trials cut time at this meet and her fourth overall.
 
The newcomer from Urbandale, Iowa, didn’t settle for those accomplishments, though. In the 100-meter breaststroke prelims, Davey topped the field for the second time Friday morning, this time setting a new school record in 1:09.23. It also improved her former U.S. Olympic Trials cut time. The rookie now owns the program’s 100- and 200-meter breaststroke records.
 
Sophomore Sophie Sorenson also improved a U.S. Olympic Trials cut time that she set last summer. The Ames, Iowa, native recorded a 1:01.39 in the 100-meter backstroke to improve her former trials cut in the event.
 
Kentucky earned 16 NCAA “B” cuts on Friday alone – 15 individual events and one relay event. The program collected 10 cuts on the opening night, for a combined 25 qualification marks through the first two nights of the meet.
 
100-yard butterfly
John Mitchell 47.43

400-yard individual medley
Bailey Bonnett 4:07.69
Gillian Davey 4:12.05
Lauren Poole 4:14.75
Daniel Orcutt 3:51.40
Kyle Barker 3:50.48
 
200-yard freestyle
Ali Galyer 1:44.64
Riley Gaines 1:45.64
 
100-yard breaststroke
Gillian Davey 1:01.09
Bailey Bonnett 1:01.31
Jackie Hill 1:01.46
 
100-yard backstroke
Asia Seidt 51.58
Caitlin Brooks 52.21
Ali Galyer 53.07
Sophie Sorenson 53.38
 
800-yard freestyle relay
7:01.40
Asia Seidt
Beth McNeese
Riley Gaines
Ali Galyer
 
Kentucky will return to action on Saturday for the 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 400 freestyle relay and platform. Prelims begin at 8 a.m. followed by platform diving at 2 p.m. and swimming finals at 6:30 p.m.
 
The team scores through day two are as follows:
 
Women’s Day Two Team Scores:
1. Ohio State: 1,701
2. Kentucky: 1,582.5
3. Notre Dame: 1,199.5
4. UCLA: 1,164.5
5. Virginia Tech: 927,5
6. Yale: 750
7. Buffalo: 493
8. Ohio University: 359
 
Men’s Day Two Team Scores:
1. Ohio State: 1,631
2. Notre Dame: 1,581
3. Yale: 1,437.5
4. Virginia Tech: 1,216
5. Kentucky: 1,215.5
 
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.