LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While some of the team was busy in Dallas, a large portion of the Auburn Swim and Dive contingent made their way to Kentucky for a two-day dual with the Cardinals.
After Friday's slate of events, the Men lead Louisville 103-64 while the Women trail 90-77.
WOMEN
A trio of freshmen kickstarted a solid day on the Women's side. Jade Castro, Morgan Carteaux, Lawson Ficken and junior Brynn Curtis put together a 400 medley relay that clocked a 3:37.30, hitting the wall in second place.
Ficken, along with seniors Emma Steckiel and Abigail Gibbons rose to the occasion in the 50 free. Ficked led the pack in second at 22.79. Steckiel and Gibbons followed in third and fourth, respectively.
Gibbons dialed up a solid effort in the 100 fly. Her 53.72 secured second while Carteaux, Avery Bargeron and Carissa Rinard locked up third, fourth and fifth.
When it came time for the 400 IM, Maggie Gholston led the way, turning in a 4:20.69 for third place. Casey Cullen would go on to grab fifth.
Freshman Wyllo Hanson also impressed in her Orange and Blue debut. Hanson fired a 1:46.76 in the 200 free, good enough for second.
Powering up the distance events was newbie Maggie McGuire. The freshman swam a 10:02.84 in the 1000 to secure second place. Katie Russell would nail fourth with Lilly Byrne and Casey Cullen grabbing fourth through sixth.
Castro appears right at home amongst a strong group of backstrokers. In the 100 back, Castro hit the wall at 53.95 to grab the first win of her career. Kyla Maloney was close behind in second while Michelle Kaner and McGuire picked up third and fifth, respectively.
Another youngster in Zoey Zeller carried the torch in the 100 breast. A 1:02.42 earned her second place ahead of her teammate Curtis. Olivia Dinehart would finish fifth.
Rounding out the evening in the 400 free relay, Ficke, Hanson, Carteaux and Payton Marvin combined for a 3:17.75 to finish second.
Heading into day two, the Tigers are just 13 points off the pace with plenty of important swims ahead.
MEN
The Auburn men simply dominated on Friday in Louisville.
Sohib Khaled, Alejandro Flores, Evan McInerny, and Ryan Husband opened the proceedings with a win by more than two seconds in the 400 medley relay.
Freshman Harrison Ranier would follow up with a victory of his own in the 400 IM. The youngster came in at 3:52.15, ahead of third-place McInerny, Collin Klingman (4th) and Britton Spann (5th).
Michael Bonson owns several top-10 swims in the 200 free. His 1:35.99 was good enough for second on Friday, beating out teammate Ryan Husband. Josh Noll and Drew Jordan would take fourth and fifth.
Khaled took on the 50 free for the Tigers. His 20.32 gave the sophomore second. Jon Vanzandt took fourth and freshman Andrew Billito secured fifth.
The Egyptian would return to winning ways in the 100 fly. His 47.66 paced the field. Ranier would slide in third, ahead of fourth-place Rusty Jerger.
Grant Davis led the charge in the 1000 for Auburn. His 9:11.56 was the third-best time of the day. Bonson and Drew Jordan followed close behind in fourth and fifth.
Junior Andrew Simmons took the win in the 100 back. Sliding in at 48.65, Simmons led a group that saw Billito take third and Tate Cutler swim the fifth-fastest time of the event.
It was Flores who would get the Tigers back amongst the winners in the 100 breast with a 54.98. Liam Heary would pace the freshmen to grab fifth.
There would be no stopping Bonson, Husband, Vanzandt and Noll in the 400 free relay to end the night. At 2:56.88, the quartet beat out the rest of the competition by nearly two seconds.
When Friday's action came to an end, Auburn owned a 103-64 lead over the hosts.
