Arkansas Freshman Betsy Wizard Rips 1:54.33 200 Fly for New School Record

ARKANSAS vs LIBERTY (WOMEN’S DUAL)

• Friday, November 4, 2022
• Arkansas Natatorium, Fayetteville, AR
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

TEAM SCORES

1. Arkansas – 177
2. Liberty – 122

Arkansas hosted Liberty for a women’s dual on Friday afternoon, beating the Flames handily 177-122.

The Razorbacks had a lot of great swims, including a fantastic 200 fly from freshman Betsy Wizard. The 19-year-old clocked a 1:54.33 in the 200 fly. Most notably, Wizard broke the Arkansas school record and pool record with the performance. That time also comes in well under the NCAA Championships invite time from 2022, which was 1:56.14.

Fifth year teammate Luciana Thomas finished second in 1:56.53, marking a new season best.

In the 500 free, the roles reversed, seeing Thomas claim victory while Wizard was second. Thomas swam a 4:49.64, marking another season best, while Wizard swam a 4:52.14.

Fifth year Kobie Melton only swam three total events but made the absolute most of her races. She started out with the 200 free, swimming a 1:47.73 to win by a big margin. Sophomore teammate Rebecca Simpson touched second, swimming a 1:49.49.

Melton then went on to post a 1:56.62 in the 200 back, winning the race by well over two seconds. She held her pace well, splitting 27.20, 29.55, 29.92, and 29.95 respectively on each 50.

Melton finished out her day on Arkansas’ ‘A’ 400 free relay, which won in 3:18.80. Alessia Ferraguti led the team off in 50.91, followed by Melton with a blistering 48.63, then Bella Cothern in 49.52, and Betsy Wizard in 49.74. Cothern was faster in the individual 100 free, which she won in 49.47.

Ferraguti took the 100 breast in a great dual meet time of 59.78, using a 27.68 on the first 50 to establish a huge early lead. Teammate Vanessa Herrmann was second, swimming a 1:00.18.

Herrmann went on to post a 2:10.82 in the 200 breast, winning the race narrowly over Ferraguti (2:11.01).

Andrea Sansores grabbed a pair of wins on the day, taking the 100 back and 100 fly. In the 100 back, Sansores swam a 53.16, beating out Liberty’s Abbie Shaw (53.53). Sansores then went on to win the 100 fly decisively with a 53.23.

Sydney Stricklin picked up a win for Liberty, swimming a 23.27 in the 50 free.

Liberty went 1-2 in the 1000 free, with Grace Shaw swimming a 10:09.58 and Isabelle Gomez touching second in 10:13.30.

The Flames also earned a win in the 200 IM, where Grace Isaacs clocked a 2:04.29. It was Liberty’s best event of the day, as the Flames had the top four finishers. Kate Baker touched second in 2:04.67, Genna Joyce swam a 2:05.09 for third, and Chloe Harris came in fourth with a 2:06.73 but swam exhibition (not for points).