CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers girls swim team hosted their annual Lady Tiger Invitational at the Fair Acres YMCA Complex, showcasing impressive depth and individual performances in a competitive field of regional teams.
Carthage claimed the team title with strong showings across multiple events, highlighted by a commanding victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Tigers' "A" relay team of Kamryn Dininger, Caelyn Samuelson, Evan Helms, and Olivia Manning finished first with a time of 4:18.75, earning 40 points and securing the event win ahead of Marshfield (4:39.82).
The Tigers also dominated the 200-yard medley relay, taking first place with a time of 2:02.59 (40 points) from Caelyn Samuelson, Olivia Manning, Kamryn Dininger, and Rylee Wallace. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Carthage placed eighth but showed solid depth.
Individual standouts for Carthage included:
Olivia Manning, who finished second in the 200-yard IM (2:24.14, 17 points) and first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:13.08, 20 points).
Caelyn Samuelson, who won the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.18, 20 points) and placed second in the 100-yard butterfly (1:13.18, 17 points).
Kamryn Dininger, who took second in the 50-yard freestyle (27.32, 17 points) and third in the 100-yard freestyle (1:02.07, 16 points).
Carthage's younger swimmers contributed significantly, with Evan Helms (14) placing fifth in the 200 freestyle (2:31.09, 14 points) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:22.51, 15 points), Kensley Yost (14) taking fifth in the 200 IM (3:02.67, 14 points) and fourth in the 500 freestyle (6:59.40, 15 points), and Baylee Boothe (14) adding points in the 500 freestyle (7:27.44, 14 points).
Joplin competed valiantly in the meet, finishing with solid individual performances despite a smaller team presence. The Eagles' Brooklynn Lurten led the way, placing fourth in the 50-yard freestyle (29.08, 15 points) and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle (1:06.58, 11 points). Brylea Smith (18) took fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:23.98, 14 points). Joplin's "A" relay teams placed fifth in the 200 medley (2:23.63, 28 points) and seventh in the 200 freestyle (2:06.03, 24 points).