LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks swim & dive team held its first meet of the 2020-21 season on Friday, as they held their intrasquad meet between the crimson and blue teams inside Robinson Natatorium in Lawrence, Kansas.
“I told the team, ‘this fall is going to be all about getting back into race mode again.’ They did a good job during the shutdown with staying in shape, but with swimming, you have to have races.” Head Coach Clark Campbell said. “This is the first in a long line of racing opportunities for the team to get sharp.”
The Crimson team narrowly defeated the Red team, 86-85, behind two event victories from freshman Kara Church. The freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., won both the 200-yard freestyle in 1:52.89 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:00.92.
In the women’s 200-yard IM, the Blue team had the advantage led by junior Kate Steward, who finished first in 2:07.75, followed by junior Paige Riekhof, who finished second in 2:09.11. Steward also took the top time in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:05.67.
In the women’s 100-yard backstroke, senior Manon Manning led the way with a time of 56.18 for the Crimson team, followed by junior Dewi Blose in 57.72.
On the diving board, sophomore Jiayu Chen claimed the women’s 1-meter dive with a finals score of 120.53 for the Crimson squad, followed by teammate Lauren Gryboski with a score of 116.55.
The meet consisted of 11 races, including the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard IM, 50-yard freestyle, 1-meter diving, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard freestyle relay. In total, the Crimson team was victorious in six of the events, while the Blue team won five events.
The Jayhawks will be back in action one week from today, as they host the virtual 5,000 from Robinson Natatorium in Lawrence, Kan. The meet marks the second of the season for KU, as they continue through the 2020-21 season.