Gamecocks Earn Gold in Four Events on Day Two of Invitational Meets
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina swimming & diving team completed day two of their respective midseason meets, taking home gold in four different events across the two meets.
Swimming – Gamecock Invitational
The 200 medley relays kicked off night two action on a high note as both the men’s and women’s performances were season bests and rank on the top-10 all-time list. The women’s A relay squad of Faith Khoo, Caroline Kudela, Greta Pelzek and Dylan Scholes earned silver after clocking a 1:38.28, the sixth fastest time in program history. The men’s A relay of Michael Laitarovsky, Linus Kahl, Eldor Usmonov and Ryan Hufford touched the wall third with the fifth fastest time in Gamecock history, swimming a 1:25.39.
Meghan Harnish led the women’s 400 IM efforts, placing fourth overall with a 4:12.87 which is the fastest time for the Gamecocks this season. Madison Kolessar took fifth place with a time of 4:15.24 after dropping three seconds from her prelims time. The grad student now ranks ninth on the top-10 all-time list. Delaney Franklin rounded out the A final results for South Carolina, placing seventh with a new best time of 4:16.46.
Raymond Prosinski and Michael Cooper were the two lone Gamecocks representing South Carolina in the A finals of the men’s 400 IM. Prosinksi secured a second-place finish after a strong swim, preventing UNC from sweeping the event. The sophomore had a powerful second half of the race, splitting 28.45 or faster for the final four 50s. Cooper swam a 3:55.19 for seventh.
The Garnet & Black were well represented in the women’s 100 fly as five swimmers competed in the A finals of the event. Greta Pelzek claimed the event title for the second consecutive season, winning with a 52.57. She swam the fastest time this season so far in prelims, clocking a 52.19. Aubrey Finn claimed a spot on the podium, taking third place with a 53.43.
Eldor Usmonov was the top finisher for South Carolina in the men’s 100 fly, finishing in sixth overall with a time of 46.85.
In the women’s 200 free Amy Riordan cruised to a first-place finish after leading the entire race. She clocked a 1:45.60 as the only swimmer in the field under 1:46.00. After earning a new best time of 1:46.03 in prelims, Ellery Ottem clocked a 1:46.53 for third place finish in the A finals. Emma Reiser took seventh with a 1:48.87.
Three swimmers represented South Carolina in the men’s 200 free B finals. Anthony Whittall was the top performer, placing third in his heat with a time of 1:38.56. Connor Fry raced right next to him, clocking a 1:39.50. Kyle Korvick swam a 1:38.68. All three Gamecocks clocked season best times.
Caroline Kudela was the top finisher in the women’s 100 breast, touching the wall 5th in a 1:01.87. Her prelims time of 1:01.55 now ranks fifth all-time in Gamecock program history and is the fastest time this season. Elizabeth Goodwin-Birnie swam a 1:02.34 for seventh place while Annaliese Streeter finished right behind her in eighth with a 1:02.87.
Liam Kerns and Linus Kahl took second and third place respectively in the men’s 100 breaststroke, both with times fast enough to make the top-10 all-time list. Kerns shaved half a second off of his prelims time to swim a new personal best of 52.64 which moves him two spots up to fifth fastest in program history. Kahl clocked a 53.02, his fastest time in the event this season.
Five Gamecocks swam in the A finals of the women’s 100 back. Dylan Scholes prevented a UNC sweep, taking second place with a new best time of 52.90 to finish between two Tarheels. Faith Khoo touched the wall in fifth after clocking a 53.57, which moves her up to eighth all-time.
Michael Laitarovsky earned silver in the men’s 100 back, clocking a season best 46.36 which is also the fastest time for South Carolina in the 2024-25 campaign.
The women’s 800 free relays wrapped up day two of the invitational in dominant style, placing first and second overall. The A relay of Ottem, Harnish, Megan Willar and Reiser won the event by six seconds after clocking a 7:12.01. Each swimmer on the relay split under 1:50.00. The B relay of Jordan Agliano, Riordan, MaKayla Ciancanelli and Nora Fluckswam a 7:18.53 for second place.
At the end of day two, both the men’s and women’s programs moved up one spot from yesterday’s results. The women now sit in first place with 1,044.50 points while the men are now in second place with 711.
Diving – UGA Invitational
In the women’s 1-meter, Reagan Patterson had a strong performance as she earned 231.60 points to nearly make finals. Alex Gregory took first in the B finals of the event with a score of 253.40 to place 13th overall. Sophie Verzyl wrapped up her prelims performances with a score of 295.15 which had her seeded second going into finals, 20 points behind LSU’s Montserrant Lavenant. The junior dominated in the finals, passing Lavenant after putting up 337.60 points to claim her second win of the UGA Invitational.
Up Next
The final day of the invitationals kick off tomorrow morning. The swimmers compete in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1650 free and 400 free relay while the divers will wrap up their time at the UGA Invitational with platform action.
