Courtesy: Little Rock Athletics
LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming and diving team has officially added 10 swimmers and two divers for the 2024-25 season, a huge boost to a talented team that has shown tremendous progress following head coach Nathan Townsend‘s first season and has begun to rebuild nicely under diving coach Chris Pape, who now has two years under his belt with the program.
“We are really fired up about this Class of 2024,” Coach Townsend. “It is a BIG class of 10 swimmers and two divers. We graduated a lot of seniors and have big shoes to fill.”
“This class really boosts our team’s depth and brings in a lot of new, young talent that we are very excited about. This freshman class will make an instant impact on the program next year and we’re all looking forward to having them here in August.”
Join the Trojans in welcoming Brooke Cummings, Jadyn Dauphinais, Erma Duratovic, Carolina Heinz, Martina Heinz, Tatum Malatin, Delaney Nickles, Anna Nishizaki, Grace Oggero, Beatriz Comini Romero, Lynlee Spinhirne and Izzy Thibodeau to Little Rock.
Read more about each incoming student-athlete below:
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Brooke Cummings (Carmel, Indiana)
Our first new Trojan is a butterfly specialist from Carmel Swim Club with a touch of sprint freestyle that has the potential to develop further. A Speedo Sectionals qualifier, Cummings has shown continuous improvement over her high school career, dropping best times in her primary events as recently as this March. Brooke’s 200 butterfly time of 2:09.93 would have qualified for the C final at the 2024 MVC Championships, while her 58.36 in the 100 butterfly would have been right outside making it back.
Coach Townsend on Cummings – “Brooke comes from one of the best swimming clubs in the nation and provides instant depth in on our fly events, which is important since we’ve lost a few with this year’s graduating class. Excited to have her here!”
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Jadyn Dauphinais (Georgetown, Tennessee)
A sprinter from the Baylor Swim Club, Dauphinais brings to the table some deadly 50s, from a 24.27 50 freestyle to a 25.65 50 fly to a 26.62 50 back. Her primary events are likely to be in the 100s of those strokes, and both her 100 butterfly (56.95) and 100 backstroke (57.92) would have qualified for the C finals at the 2024 MVC Championships. With some small drops, she should also be in reach of the Trojan Top Times list.
Coach Townsend on Dauphinais – “Jadyn is a multi-sport athlete and brings in some speed across multiple strokes. She will be a major relay player for us in addition to her individual swims.”
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Erma Duratovic (Trelleborg, Sweden)
Coming to Little Rock from the swim club Föreningen Trelleborg Sim in Sweden, Duratovic joins the Trojans with hammers in the sprint freestyle events. That includes a 26.90 LCM 50 freestyle that converts to a 23.51 in American yards, good for the B final at the 2024 MVC Championships and seventh on the Trojan Top Times list. Her 57.57 SCM 100 freestyle converts to a 51.86 in yards, just on the edge of making it back for finals, while her third event looks to be the 100 fly, as her best time of 1:04.09 in SCM converts to a 57.73 in SCY, another one right on the edge of qualifying for the C final at conference.
Coach Townsend on Duratovic – “Erma is one of our top freestyle sprinters in this class. She’s also finding a lot of success in her fly and back that will help our depth in those events. She has a lot of natural speed, which is hard to teach!”
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Carolina Heinz (Porto Alegre, Brazil)
An athlete that can swim almost any race is incredibly valuable, and that’s exactly what Carolina Heinz is, ranked 263rd worldwide in her class according to SwimCloud. Her 2:05.38 200 freestyle in long course meters (LCM) converts to a 1:50.07, which is one one-hundredth of a second faster than the current Little Rock school record. That time would have been one spot away from qualifying for the A final at the 2024 MVC Championships, while her time in the 100 freestyle (57.55 in LCM) is approximately 50.40 in yards, which would have made the top heat at conference. Carolina could go up to the 500 free, as her 4:25.83 (LCM) converts to a 4:57.84, or down to the 50 free, with her 26.56 (LCM) converting to a 23.20 in yards. Both marks are in range of the A final as well, making her a triple threat as an incoming freshman.
Coach Townsend on C. Heinz – “Carol’s range from the 50-1000 free is very impressive. We are excited to see her boost our strong freestyle group and make an immediate impact on all three of our free relays.”
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Martina Heinz (Porto Alegre, Brazil)
While her sister is strong in freestyle, Martina Heinz favors the backstroke events. Her sprints fare better coming in, as her 50 backstroke time of 32.34 (LCM) converts to a 28 in yards, while her 100 backstroke in long course meters, a 1:09, converts to around 1:00 in short course yards. Joining a strong backstroke group at Little Rock, with a little training she should see progress in both her 200 backstroke and 200 IM, likely to become her secondary and tertiary events.
Coach Townsend on M. Heinz – “Martina brings in more depth across the IM and backstroke events for us. It’s very exciting to have her and her twin sister together at Little Rock.”
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Tatum Malatin (San Tan Valley, Arizona)
Tatum is a four-time State qualifier on the 1 meter board for Red Mountain High School, finishing as high as seventh place twice during her prep career. She also placed 7th on the 3 meter board at the 2023 Arizona Association Championships and 10th on the 1 meter.
Coach Pape on Malatin – “Tatum brings an energy and drive that will shine through in her diving. With the skills and abilities she has developed combined with her attitude, I believe we have only seen the beginning of her potential.”
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Delaney Nickles (Forest Lake, Minnesota)
Named Section 7AA Diver of the Year, Nickles leaves Forest Lake High School leaving a strong impression, including the school record for 6 dives. She’s a Minnesota State qualifier and 9th place finisher on the 1 meter board but also has experience on the taller board, placing 14th at the USA Diving Zone D Championships.
Coach Pape on Nickles – “Delaney has the ability to make an instant impact for the team. Coming in with the difficulty of dives she already has will help us put more divers in scoring positions at big meets. I am excited to see how she can grow and what she can accomplish.”
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Anna Nishizaki (Plano, Texas)
The sole breaststroke swimmer in this incoming class, Nishizaki of Metroplex Aquatics is an athlete with several times that could immediately make an impact on the team. Her mark of 2:16.90 in the 200 breaststroke is exactly seven one-hundredths faster than the record set this year, which was deserving of the A final at the 2024 MVC Championships. Likewise, her best times in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.51) and 200 IM (2:04.77) would have scored points in the B final this past season. Don’t overlook her 200 freestyle either, as her 1:51.58 would have been quick enough to make the B final as well, and is definitely relay worthy for Little Rock.
Coach Townsend on Nishizaki – “Anna coming in already has our school record in the 200 breast so it will be exciting to see her and current record holder Adara go back and forth this year in that event. She’s very versatile and will help us in the middle distance events such as the 200 IM and 200 free.”
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Grace Oggero (Houston, Texas)
Grace gets better as the distance goes up, which is great for a growing group of long distance Trojans in Little Rock. Her mile time of 17:44.65 would make the top 5 on the Trojan Top Times list as well as would have scored points in the 1650 at the 2024 MVC Championships. While the 1000 is not an event raced at conference, it is at dual meets, and Grace’s 10:41.96 is also eligible for the team record book. While her 500 time of 5:11.12 is still a few seconds out of range of scoring, some speed work could make a big impact on her growth, since the endurance is already there.
Coach Townsend on Oggero – “Grace will a big boost to our distance group. A big goal of mine for the coming years is to improve our depth in the 500-1650, and Grace will do exactly that.”
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Beatriz Comini Romero (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Another force coming to Little Rock from Brazil, Romero is the definition of well-rounded, and is an athlete that can fit into any holes in the roster or fill deficiencies as needed. Her 100 freestyle may be her strongest event, with a 58.91 LCM that converts to a 51.63 in yards, which would have been right on the edge of the B final at the 2024 MVC Championships, followed by her 200 freestyle, a 2:07.88 LCM that converts to a 1:52.32 in yards, a solid mark for the C final. After that, you name it – her 50 free, 500 free, 200 IM, or 100 breast are all possibilities for scoring team points.
Coach Townsend on Romero – “Beatriz is another one of our versatile swimmers who can swim just about anything. It will be fun working with her to find her 3-4 best events.”
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Lynlee Spinhirne (Vega, Texas)
Primarily a backstroker joining the Trojans from the Amarillo Swim Team, Lynlee’s most valuable mark is her 58.80 in the 100 backstroke that would have qualified for the C final at the 2024 MVC Championships. Joining a strong and growing group of backstrokers, it shouldn’t be difficult for her to drop significant time in her 200, but you could also see Lynlee make an appearance in the 100 butterfly or 200 IM after some development at the collegiate level.
Coach Townsend on Spinhirne – “Lynlee is a swimmer with a lot of untapped potential. It will be exciting to help find her third event. Additionally, she’s going to add some great backstroke depth.”
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Izzy Thibodeau (Allen, Texas)
A valuable addition to the distance group, Thibodeau has a 500 free time of 5:04.12 that not only would have qualified for the C final at the 2024 MVC Championship and rank within the top eight on the Trojan Top Times list, but hints at further development in the longer events. For instance, her converted time from the 800 meter freestyle is a 10:41.47 in yards, good for the top ten in school history and on pace to score points in the mile at conference too. Add in a solid 200 freestyle at 1:54.77 and a new 400 IM best time in meters this month and Izzy has plenty of potential.
Coach Townsend on Thibodeau – “Izzy is another one of our distance swimmers coming in for this class. She’s never swam a mile but we will definitely challenge her with that event. Excited to see what she can accomplish!”