Little Rock achieved a record-breaking performance on March 13 during the second day of the National Invitational Championship in Ocala, Florida, with several swimmers setting personal and program bests.
The team’s strong results are significant as they have already surpassed their previous program record for total points scored at this meet. This demonstrates the progress and competitiveness of the Little Rock Trojans women’s swimming and diving team.
In the morning time trials, Nelanee Fulton swam the second-fastest 100 butterfly in program history, while Anna Nishizaki made a substantial improvement in her 200 backstroke time. Lena Nikolaeva posted her second-best career time in the 100 individual medley, and Beatriz “BiBi” Comini Romero broke one minute in that event for the first time. The evening session saw Little Rock’s relay team finish 17th overall in the 200 medley relay. Megan Stewart qualified for the A final of the 400 individual medley and finished ninth overall after improving her prelims time. Olivia Elgin reset her own school record in the morning prelims of the 200 freestyle and placed eighth overall in the finals. The night concluded with an 11th-place finish by Comini Romero, Gabriella O’Nell, Stewart, and Elgin in the 800 freestyle relay.
Head coach Nathan Townsend said, “Coming into this meet, our program had only ever had two A-finalists in its history. This morning we matched that with outstanding performances from Megan Stewart and Olivia Elgin.” Townsend continued, “Olivia also put together a huge swim in prelims, breaking her own school record and earning the top seed heading into tonight’s final.” He added praise for his team’s relay efforts: “We also had some really strong relay performances, moving up several spots and scoring more points than we ever have before. It was even our first time swimming the 800 free relay at this meet, and that group turned in a great result with a high finish.” Townsend highlighted their achievements so far: “Through just the first two days of competition, we’ve already surpassed our previous program record for total points scored at this meet, which is a huge testament to the effort and competitiveness of this group.” He concluded by saying he is proud of his athletes: “I’m incredibly proud of how our ladies fought today and the way they continue to represent the Trojans. We’ve got one more day tomorrow and as we always say, Saturdays are for the Trojans.”
The championship will conclude Saturday with preliminary events starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by distance sessions at 5 p.m., and finals beginning at 6 p.m.
Fans can follow live streaming coverage throughout the weekend or purchase tickets online to attend.
