Texas girls’s swim and dive opens season with Dust Off Your Boots Invitational – The Day by day Texan

Along the sting of the pool on the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center stood two seasoned sophomores, Jillian Cox and Kate Hurst, making ready to swim the 1000-yard freestyle alongside three different males’s crew swimmers. But this time, Cox and Hurst weren’t competing as teammates. 

Texas girls’s swim and dive opened its season Friday on the annual Dust Off Your Boots Invitational, splitting into Orange and White Squads, with the Orange narrowly edging out the White 136-127. Cox aided within the Orange victory, beating Hurst by practically 16 seconds within the 1000-yard free. 

“It’s kind of fun to do a White and Orange where we’re on the same team,” junior Campbell Stoll mentioned. “Physically, we’re all at Texas, but just splitting up into the White and Orange creates a super competitive environment.” 

Stoll had a standout day, profitable the 200-yard fly and 200-yard particular person medley, in addition to posting a private finest within the 100-yard fly with 51.38 seconds. Her earlier finest was 51.44 final season in opposition to Indiana. 

Outside of the 1000-yard free, Cox earned a win within the 500-yard free, ending a second and a half forward of fellow sophomore Lillian Nesty, who positioned second in two particular person races and first within the combined 400-yard freestyle relay. 

The intrasquad scrimmage gave each the ladies’s and males’s groups the chance to compete collectively, one thing not attainable through the common season. It’s an opportunity to point out off their expertise and gauge which athletes are ready for breakout seasons. 

“I think it’s definitely fun to be where we’re getting more towards a combined program, so being able to compete more as a team with the men and the women is super fun,” Stoll mentioned. 

The true story of the meet, nevertheless, was the freshmen performances. In her Texas debut, Kiki Padar earned victories in each the 100 and 200-yard free. Padar showcased the expertise the Longhorns anticipated from her as a top-12 recruit within the 2025 girls’s class. 

A former Arizona State University commit earlier than Bob Bowman’s transfer to Texas, Padar is predicted to be a focus on this 12 months’s freshman class. She represented Hungary on the 2024 Olympics, the place she helped her crew end sixth within the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. 

Several different freshmen impressed as nicely, incomes first place in a number of particular person races: Eva Okaro within the 50-yard free, Sarah Rodrigues within the 200-yard backstroke and Avery Collins within the 200-yard breast. 

“I think our freshman class is coming in as big dogs,” Stoll mentioned. “They’ve been practicing really hard, so just seeing what they can bring to our team is really exciting.” 

Though a freshman, Okaro is well-versed within the pool. The British nationwide joined Texas this season after spectacular appearances within the British Championships and Paris Trials that landed her a spot on the most important stage within the sport. 

Okaro positioned first in three of the 4 occasions that she participated in, falling second solely within the 100-yard fly to Stoll. 

In the diving occasions, junior Bayleigh Cranford stood out, inserting first within the 1-meter and second within the 3-meter dive. The 2025 All-American was overwhelmed out by junior Caroline Kupka, who made a comeback efficiency after inserting fourth within the 1-meter dive.

The Longhorns will face the Crimson Tide on Oct. 10 in Tuscaloosa to start their convention schedule.

“Obviously, Alabama has a great team, and I’m sure they have a great environment, too,” Stoll mentioned. “So just bringing this energy into their environment is super important.”