Air Force opens Liberty Invite with time trial effort

LYNCHBURG- The Falcons opened their time at the 'TYR 85 Liberty Invite on Thursday, racing for potential qualification into the 2024 Olympic Time Trials. While no Air Force swimmer managed a qualifying time, the Falcons did swim to a solid showing.

In the 400-Meter Freestyle, Air Force's Katelyn Andrist and Jessica Smith were the lone swimmers to enter the race. Andrist managed a time of 4:31.85, while Smith clocked in at 4:38.60.

Air Force was again the only team to offer participants in the 200-Meter IM, as Ella Martin (2:24.49), Hanani Dona (2:26.79) and Jessie McNeil (2:30.41) were the competing trio.

Of the 20 swimmers in the 50-Meter Freestyle, the Falcons saw 14 of their own in the race. Abby Turner (27.01) finished second among the group, while Alex Clark (27.48), Catherine Dean (27.64), and Allana Clarke (27.67) closed narrowly to round out the top-five standing.

Lauren Arnold was the Falcons top placer in the 100-Meter Butterfly following a time of 1:04.10. Ryan Mills finished just behind Arnold, notching her own time of 1:04.60.

The 200-Meter Freestyle saw Natalie Gembicki (2:13.13) and Kaitlyn Surratt (2:14.59) conclude the swim neck-and-neck. As well, Naomi Furman was third among the five swimmers in the 100-Meter Breaststroke after she posted a 1:11.94.

Kai-Min Tsuei notched a time of 1:05.56 in the 100-Meter Backstroke with Kirsten Lee ending the 100-Meter Freestyle with a team-best time of 58.87.

Next, Air Force will get back to more traditional swims on Friday, as the 'TYR 85 Liberty Invite resumes at 8:00 am MT for the preliminary swims, while the final round begins at 4:00 pm MT.

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