Cyclones Third After Day Two Of Kansas Classic

TOPEKA, Kan. – Iowa State swimming (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) remains in third place following day two of the Kansas Classic, scoring 450 points in total over the first two days of the event. The Cyclones trail North Texas, who is currently in second, by 80, but lead third-place UNI by 94.5 points.

PRELIMS

Nine swimmers placed well enough in their events during preliminary competition to advance to the 'A' heat in Saturday night's finals, while eight other swimmers will also be in scoring heats for the Cyclones. During Saturday's morning session, the Cyclones used three PR times to advance into scoring heats, setting five overall on the day. Senior Mary Kate Luddy came away with a pair of personal-bests, matching her time of 55.59 in the 100 fly, while jumping onto Iowa State's top-20 performer list in the 200 freestyle by touching at 1:51.63. She advanced to the 'A' final in both events.

FINALS

The 200 medley relay kicked things off for the Cyclones, with two relays inside the top-six overall. Harper Emswiler, Kasey Roberts, Mary Kate Luddy and Laura Miksch swam for a third-place finish in the event with a time of 1:42.50 to become the 10th-fastest 200 medley team in school history. In the 400 IM finals, Haley Ruegemer took fifth, Kami Pankratz seventh, both scoring well for Iowa State.

Mary Kate Luddy continued to improve her PR times, eclipsing both her 100 fly (55.32, second) and 200 free (1:51.43, eighth) personal records that she set just a few hours prior in preliminary competition. Her time in the 100 fly takes her from the 12^th to ninth best performer in Cyclone history, while sticking in 16^th in the 200 free. Head coach Duane Sorenson commented on Mary Kate's ability to perform at a high level in a couple events swam within 15 minutes of one another.

"That's Mary Kate," Sorenson said. "She's a fierce competitor. Not many people can do that, and that's what makes her such a special swimmer."

Rachel Resch would score in the 100 fly with a time of 56.90, taking 11^th overall, while Silqi Luo joined Luddy in the 200 free (1:50.62) placing fifth. Emma Ruehle and Polina Shynkarenko were 200 free scorers as well.

The 100 breast gave a big bump to the Cyclones' score, as Lehr Thorson and Miksch both scored in the 'B' heat, while a pair of top-five finishes from seniors Kasey Roberts (1:04.29, fourth) and Danica Delaquis (1:04.51, fifth) provided a big boost.

"I haven't been swimming breaststroke," senior swimmer Kasey Roberts said following the meet. "It was good to be back and racing against [Danica] again."

"I didn't see Kasey during the race," Delaquis noted. "When I touched and saw my time, I looked for Kasey's and I was happy to see we were so close."

The 100 back featured five Cyclones in scoring heats, led by another pair of seniors Emswiler (56.55, sixth) and Roberts (57.79, eighth).

The last event of the night was the 800 freestyle relay, an event the Cyclones had yet to swim in this season. All three relays placed in the top eight to push the Cyclones aggregate score to 450.

DIVING

The final day of the Mizzou Invite took place on Saturday in Columbia, Missouri. For the divers, it was a great day on the platform. All three divers improved from the Minnesota Invitational, with Sydney Ronald posting a new personal best of`186.80 in the event, good for 16^th overall. Katherine Mueller scored 180.00 and finished 20^th, while teammate Dana Liva finished sixth in prelims with a 231.70, advancing to finals. Liva, who advanced to the final in all three diving events, would score a personal record of 253.20 in the platform finals en route to a fourth place finish in the event.

"I was very happy with all the divers' performances today on platform," diving coach Jeff Warrick said following the Mizzou Invite. "Sydney and Dana set personal bests, and Dana improved her score from prelims to finals and did a great job today."

Recap the Mizzou Invite with day one and day two post-meet recaps and results by following the links.

UP NEXT

The Kansas Classic continues on Sunday with the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the mile. Sunday's events will wrap up the three-day invitational. Awaiting the Cyclones following a three-week break will be an in-state rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa State swimming and diving will look to earn a point in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series for the first time since 2009-10 on Dec. 8.

Players Mentioned

Danica Delaquis

Harper Emswiler

Mary Kate Luddy

Silqi Luo

Laura Miksch

Kasey Roberts

Sydney Ronald

Haley Ruegemer

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics