Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Big 12 Duals on January 16, 2026 , , 5th, 781 points
Final
Swimming and Diving
Big 12 Duals
5th, 781 points
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Iowa State University Athletics
Records Continue To Fall At Big Challenge
11.21.2015 | Swimming and Diving
Topeka, Kansas – Personal records and top times from this season continued to fall for the Iowa State swimmers in day two of the Big Challenge.
Mirroring the number from the first day of competition, the Cyclones combined to post 13 more personal records and bring their two-day total to 26. Iowa State also racked up 40 season-best times in individual events throughout the day, bringing the two-day total for that superlative to 76.
The Iowa State divers, who finished 1-2-6 on one-meter boards on the first day of the KU Dive Invite, again dominated the competition on the three-meter board by taking first, second and eighth on day two. Senior captain Elyse Brouillette took home first place with a day-long total of 528.40 points, followed by junior Julie Dickinson with mark of 498.50. Freshman Maggie James totaled 401.30 points on the day.
Luddy Impresses, Kucera Wins Swim-Off To Highlight Prelims
After setting 39 season-best times and 13 personal records in day one of the Big Challenge, Iowa State started day two without missing a beat. The Cyclones set 27 season-best finishes in the prelim heats alone, including nine personal records.
Sophomore Mary Kate Luddy set career-bests in both events she competed in during prelims, despite the fact that they were in back-to-back events. After clocking in at 4:31.69 in the 400 IM, Luddy was back in the pool to swim the 100 butterfly in 55.59 on less than 20 minutes of rest.
Senior Kaylee Kucera ended the morning session in style for the Cyclones, claiming victory in a swim-off of the 100 backstroke for the 16th and final scoring position of the event in the finals. Kucera tied Nebraska's Lindsay Helferich with a prelim time of 57.55 and used a strong final push in the swim-off to edge out the win by 0.19 seconds. With the win, Kucera improved to 4-0 all-time in swim-offs.
The Cyclones tallied seven top-10 finishes across day two's prelim events and of the 29 Iowa State entries, 26 qualified for finals.
Roberts, Engel Shine In IM Finals
Iowa State claimed four of the top-13 times in 400 IM finals, led by sophomore Kasey Roberts, who took fifth place with a time of 4:22.45, the 10th-fastest mark in ISU history. Engel finished in sixth, clocking in at 4:22.45 for the No. 12 time in school history.
Junior Silqi Luo took fifth place in the 200 freestyle, besting her career-high set in prelims by 0.35 seconds. Luo's new personal record (1:50.27) trims 1.75 seconds from her time entering the day. Fellow junior Karyl Clarete finished close behind Luo, clocking in at 1:50.98 for an eighth-place finish.
Roberts claimed Iowa State's highest event finish of the day, touching in 1:03.09 in the 100 breaststroke to take fourth place. Following Roberts in the 100 backstroke, Engel, sophomore Harper Emswiler and Kucera finished 2-4-5 in the 'B' heat to round out another great day of individual performances.
To cap off the night, Iowa State's 'B' and 'A' 800 freestyle relay squads both finished in the top-eight, earning times of 7:31.70 and 7:44.30, respectively.
Iowa State is back in action for the third and final days of the Big Challenge and KU Dive Invite at 10 a.m. on Nov. 22. Fans can follow along with the action at the Iowa State swimming and diving team's Twitter account (@CycloneSD) and check back at cyclones.com after the day's events for a full recap and results.
Players Mentioned
Diving
/ Swimming and Diving
Freestyle
/ Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Swimming and Diving
Back/Free
/ Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Swimming and Diving
Sprint/Fly/Back
/ Swimming and Diving
Dis. Free/Fly/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Breast/IM
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