The first day of prelims at the Ohio State Fall Invitational saw some exciting action from the Cardinals swim team. The nationally ranked Louisville men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are going head-to-head with the Buckeyes and other schools in attendance include Indiana, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Ohio University (Diving Only), Cal (Diving Only), and Kenyon (Diving Only).
The three-day meet kicked off with the 200 freestyle relay at 9:30am. Prelims were held in the morning in meters, with finals taking place at 5:30 ET in yards.
In the 400M freestyle, IU’s Anna Peplowski took the top spot with a time of 4:12.80. Summer Cardwell was the first Cardinal to finish, placing fifth with a time of 4:16.62. Paige Kuwata came in 12th with a time of 4:23.52, followed by Maddie Luther in 18th with a time of 4:26.19, and Rye Ulett in 22nd with a time of 4:28.86. Paige McCormick finished with a time of 4:30.46, and Jordan Durocher took 24th place with a time of 4:31.11.
Alex Axon of Ohio State had the fastest time in the men’s 400M free, clocking in at 3:51.89. Louisville’s Ilia Sibirtsev finished second with a time of 3:52.42, while his teammate Tyler Watson claimed third place with a time of 3:53.32. Gustavo Saldo, Kayden Lancaster, Denis Loktev, and Murilo Sartori also finished in the top 12. Freshman Or Tal finished with a time of 4:03.38, Tommy Bried with a time of 4:05.27, and John Bossler with a time of 4:08.11.
In the women’s 200M IM, OSU’s Krista Martin secured the top spot with a time of 2:15.31. Abby Hay of Louisville finished second with a time of 2:15.56, followed by Kim Herkle in third with a time of 2:16.55. Fernanda Celidonio, Madie Hall, Tristen Ulett, Rye Ulett, and Zoe Vogelman also competed for the Cardinals. Jordan Durocher and Adry Kasemets also had strong performances.
Tristan Jankovics of Ohio State was the only swimmer to finish the men’s 200M IM in under 2 minutes, with a time of 1:59.05. Jackson Millard was the top Cardinal finisher in fifth place with a time of 2:02.33, followed by Tommy Bried in ninth place with a time of 2:04.46. Aidan Paro, Luke Shourds, Drew Collins, Charlie Crush, Jordan Kelly, Grant Gooding, Ryan Hogan, and Aidan Kreiley also had solid performances for Louisville.
Kristina Paegle of Indiana had the best time in the women’s 50M free with a time of 25.17. Gabi Albiero finished third for the Cardinals with a time of 25.32, followed by Lucy Mehraban in fourth with a time of 25.50. Julia Dennis and Christina Regenauer tied for fifth with a time of 25.55, and Bianca Costea rounded out the top 10 with a time of 25.84. Paige Hetrick, Karoline Barrett, and Ella Welch also competed for Louisville.
Chris Guiliana of Notre Dame claimed the top spot in the men’s 50M Free, with a time of 22.25. Caleb Duncan was the top Cardinal finisher in tenth place with a time of 23.08, followed by Vlad Dubinin in 14th with a time of 23.11 and Yassin Hossam in 15th with a time of 23.15. Matias Santiso, Guy Brooks, Dalton Lowe, Owen Taylor, Kasper Johnsen, Rob Ehrenbord, Grant Gooding, and Denis Petrashov also represented Louisville.
Overall, it was a solid performance from the Cardinals on the first day of the Ohio State Fall Invitational. They will be looking to build on their success in the upcoming days of competition.
