FINAL RESULTS

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - For the 24th consecutive time, the No. 9 Henderson State Red Wave men bested the (RV) Ouachita Baptist Tiger Sharks, 134-109. The No. 23 HSU women fell to their (RV) Ouachita counterparts, 148-91.

The win Friday evening marks just the second time since 2011 the Red Wave men have started a season 3-0 in dual meets. The other time came during the 2020-21 shortened year due to Covid-19.

Both Red Wave teams started the night off strong with wins in the 200 yard medley relay. With Kiara Pozvai not competing, Mackenzie Kester led off the women's medley relay for the first time this season as her, Emma Jorgensen, Isabelle Andrews and Valerie Grigar earned the women 11 points with first-place swim of 1:49.53. Grigar swam her final 50-yard leg in 24.72 - nearly two whole seconds faster than any other anchor swimmer.

The men one-twoed Ouachita Baptist to foreshadow the evening's victory, beginning with Lamar Taylor, Oskar Cebula, Jase Pinckney and Tate Sloan echoing the women's podium-topping swim with a time of 1:32.34. The HSU 'B' relay consisting of Tim Holt, Mark Eberhard, Patryk Dabrowski and Jaren Tippett out-swam OUA's 'A' relay by a full second, touching the wall at 1:33.22 for second.

That set the tone for the rest of the night as the Red Wave men would go on to win seven events, highlighted by Jack Armstrong and Pinckney. Armstrong's first event of the night came in the 200 freestyle as Armstrong paced his competitors with a time of 1:40.12 thanks to 22.85 first 50 yards which put nearly two whole seconds between him and second place after just the second turn.

Armstrong added to that in the 100 freestyle with a winning time of 44.52. Pinckney's pair of individual wins came in the 50 free (21.14) and the 100 butterfly (49.72). Between the two of the them in just those four races, the duo garnered 36 points for the men's home team.

Laci Long got the first individual win on the women's side as she earned a final score of 267.20 in the 1-meter diving while Kester (24.82) and Jorgensen (4:40.81) each saw second-place finishes in the 50 free and 400 IM, respectively. Long also got the win in the 3-meter diving with 245.40 points before Kester saw her second Runner-Up individual finish in the 100 freestyle (54.00).

Jorgensen got her win in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.73) while teammate Madeleine Gaia followed her up with a 1:11.26 for second place. On the men's side, Taylor, who was three days removed from winning bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games, won his only individual event of the meet, taking first in the 100 backstroke (49.04).

Eberhard finished off the individual wins for the men, taking top honors in the 100 breaststroke (57.93) before the male quartet of Armstrong, Holt, Gabriel Vidal Simoes and Taylor earned a final 11 points for the HSU men in the 200 freestyle relay as they posted a 1:23.53 time.    

Both Red Wave programs will head to Conway, Arkansas, tomorrow morning for the Hendrix Classic at 10:30 a.m. This is the first time either side has competed in this event since the 2019-20 season when the men finished in first while the women posted second.