Chants of “S-C, S-C, S-C,” “Let’s go Texas,” “1-2-3 let’s go Stanford,” among others, echoed through the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center as teams rallied behind their programs for the Texas Hall of Fame Swimming Invitational.
The invite featured schools from across the country, providing a deeper pool of talent compared to the Longhorns’ previous dual meets. Texas kicked off the meet a day earlier than planned, extending the event into a week-long slate of racing.
“Energy has been great — we had kind of an electric night,” head coach Carol Capitani said after the first day of the invitational. “We had some great surprises, and I think on all levels we’re really proud of the job we did.”
Sophomore Jillian Cox headlined the meet with an impressive showing in the 1650-yard freestyle. After a fast opening, Cox took off, steadily placing herself further and further ahead of the competition. Stretching her lead from four seconds early to seven at the halfway point, Cox won by nearly 19 seconds in 15:41.70. Fellow sophomore Kate Hurst finished second in 15:59.59, making them the only swimmers to touch under 16 minutes.
Cox backed it up with another statement win in the 500-yard freestyle, establishing an early lead to send her into the final 100 yards two seconds clear of the rest of the lanes. She solidified her win with a time of 4:32.92, the number one time in the nation. Freshman Nikolett Padar and sophomore Lillian Nesty followed right behind with third and fourth-place finishes.
Padar and Nesty had other standout showings in the sprint freestyle sessions. Padar set a team record in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:42.10 runner-up finish, while Nesty secured third to give Texas two podium swimmers in the event.
Despite strong all-around performances, Texas continued to fall short to Stanford University. In the breaststroke lane, sophomore Piper Enge and junior Angie Coe each earned runner-up finishes in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, respectively, falling to Stanford senior Lucy Bell in both instances.
“Obviously I got second, always gunning for first, so that’s always gonna sting a little bit, but it gives me some good motivation,” Enge said.
The trend continued in the relay events after Texas placed third in the 800-yard freestyle relay, behind USC and Stanford. Texas then fell to second place in the 200-yard freestyle and third place in the 400-yard IM relays.
Still, Texas showed legitimate underclassmen promise throughout the invite.
In the sprint heats, freshman Eva Okaro displayed her strengths, securing second in the 100-yard fly and third in the 50-yard free.
“I think we’ve had some breakthroughs with a lot of kids, and so it’s just exciting to see them swim with that confidence,” Capitani said.
Texas aims to continue its momentum when the Longhorns host the U.S. Open the week after Thanksgiving.
