COLUMBUS, Ohio. – The Kentucky swimming and diving program wrapped up its midseason test at the Ohio State Invitational over the weekend, highlighted by three program records from freshmen Falemana Tuufui, Lysander Osman, and the men’s 200 medley relay, along with another top 10 historical swim from Javier Lopez Guillen and Fernanda De Goeij. Facing one of the nation’s deepest mid-season fields, the Wildcats continued to build momentum heading into the back half of the year.
Tuufui once again set the tone for the Wildcats, lowering his own 50 freestyle school record for the second straight meet with a blistering 19.24, solidifying himself as the fastest Wildcat in program history.
Fellow French native and freshman Osman delivered history of his own, shattering the school record in the 100 backstroke with a 45.91. With the swim, he became the first Wildcat ever to break 46 seconds in the event, marking a major milestone for Kentucky’s backstroke group.
Kentucky added another historic performance on the men’s side as Javier Lopez Guillen clocked a 47.13 in the 100 butterfly, the eighth-fastest time in school history.
Fernanda De Goeij rewrote the record books herself, with the sixth-fastest time in program history in the 400 IM in a convincing 4:09.43 swim.
The women’s divers once again anchored the Wildcats’ success, led by Avery Giese’s runner-up finish on 1-meter, followed closely by top 10 performances from Devynn Bishop and Kristy Pfaff. Bishop also advanced to finals on 3-meter, rounding out another strong weekend for the trio.
Kentucky saw consistent contributions from several key women’s swimmers. Billie Sherratt continued her strong form in the butterfly events, competing in one of the fastest heats and finishing top 5 in both the 200 fly prelim and final. Grace Frericks put together some of her best mid-season backstroke performances as well as Hayden Penny, adding depth with strong swims in her second year of collegiate swimming, including a NCAA standard cut. On the men’s side, Levi Sandidge, Adomas Gatulis, and Carson Hick once again stood out for the Wildcats with multiple A final finishes.
The women’s team ended up tying for fourth place with a score of 1262, defeating UCLA, Cincinnati, Penn State, Yale, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin. This is one of their best finishes in a larger meet such as midseason as of late. The men’s side finished in seventh above Cincinnati, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Pittsburgh.
With three program records, two top 10 all-time performance, and strong contributions across both squads, the Wildcats depart Columbus with significant momentum heading into winter training. Kentucky now shifts its focus toward preparing for competition in the new year.
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