Three Gold Performances Headline Final Night of Midseason Invite
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 21/15 University of Kentucky swimming and diving teams recorded 13 top-three finishes, including three gold performances, on the final night of the Ohio State Fall Invite. Meanwhile, the program met five new U.S. Olympic Trials standards and 42 NCAA qualification standards throughout the midseason test.
In all, the program boasted 10 gold performances at the invitational (Nov. 21-23). Leading the charge, senior Asia Seidt won all three of her individual events and added three relay wins.
On the final night, Seidt recorded a 1:50.85 in the 200-yard backstroke to claim her third individual title of the meet (she won the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard backstroke earlier in the week).
The Louisville native led a sweep of the event as three Wildcats finished stacked behind her:
2nd – Ali Galyer 1:50.99
3rd – Caitlin Brooks 1:52.15
4th – Sophie Sorenson 1:54.86
It wasn’t the only sweep of the night though, as standout-freshman Gillian Davey led a sweep in the 200-yard breaststroke. The Urbandale, Iowa, native recorded a 2:08.29 in the event to lead the field by over one full second. The Wildcats who finished behind her are as follows:
2nd – Bailey Bonnett 2:09.69
3rd – Lauren Poole 2:11.83
One senior who has had a terrific meet in what has already been a great season for him is senior Peter Wetzlar. The Zimbabwean won the 50-yard freestyle on the opening night of the meet and recorded a bronze finish in the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday night in 43.47. Though, Wetzlar lowered that time swimming a lead-leg 43.33 in the final relay.
Before the meet, Wetzlar had top-15 times in the nation in both events. That is likely to remain the case after invitationals across the nation end this weekend.
Freshman Beth McNeese has put together a series of promising performances this week, capping the night off with a silver performance in the 1650-yard freestyle in 16:16.87. Junior Lauren Edelman also collected silver in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:56.71.
Senior Connor Blandford took bronze in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:46.06. Sophomore Mason Wilby also notched a bronze performance in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:46.21.
The women’s team closed the night with their third winning relay of the meet, recording a time of 3:16.42 in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Seidt led the pack with a 48.99, followed by Galyer in 48.55, then sophomore Riley Gaines in 49.03 and anchored by freshman Kaitlynn Wheeler in 49.85.
The women’s team won three relays this week – the 400-yard medley relay, the 800-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The team scores are as follows:
Women’s Team Scores:
1. Ohio State: 2,518.5
2. Kentucky: 2,346.5
3. Notre Dame: 1,790.5
4. UCLA: 1,790.5
5. Virginia Tech: 1,702.5
6. Yale: 1,323.5
7. Buffalo: 753
8. Ohio University: 466.5
Men’s Team Scores:
1. Ohio State: 2,436.5
2. Notre Dame: 2,346
3. Yale: 2,060.5
4. Virginia Tech: 1,793.5
5. Kentucky: 1,785.5
Next on the Schedule
Select swimmers will compete at USA Swimming Winter Nationals Dec. 4-7 at McCauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. The long-course meet is an opportunity for swimmers to earn 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials cut times. Meanwhile, select divers will compete at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational Dec. 6-7 at Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic center in Oxford, Ohio.
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.
