WELLESLEY, Mass. – Junior Olivia Bailey (Wrentham, Mass.) claimed her first medal and the Plymouth State University women's swim team churned out a slew of significant season-best times during day one of the Little East Conference (LEC) Championships at the Boston Sports Institute on Friday.
 
Bailey claimed a bronze medal in the 200-yard backstroke, chopping more than eight seconds off her season best time.
 
Sophomore Ollie Kramer (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and junior Jackie Gaigals (Rochester, N.H.) reached the A finals of the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, respectively, and sophomore Gabby Gladu (Lewiston, Maine) sliced more than 10.5 seconds off her season best time in the 200-yard IM.
 
PSU's relays were especially impressive, with the 200-yard freestyle squad finishing nearly five seconds ahead of the season-best mark, while the 400-yard medley relay topped its previous season-best time by an astonishing 33.87 seconds.
 
Plymouth State secured 72 points on the opening day to sit in ninth place.
 
 
Individual Event Top Finishes:

• Olivia Bailey (3rd – 200 Back)
• Ollie Kramer (8th – 500 Free)
• Jackie Gaigals (8th – 100 Fly)
• Gabby Gladu (13th – 200 IM)

How it Happened:

• Gaigals, Kramer and Bailey teamed up with sophomore Laurel Bennett (Rindge, N.H.) in the 200-yard freestyle relay, with the foursome posting a 1:49.71 to finish ninth. The time was 4.91 seconds faster than the team's previous season's best.
• Kramer put in a strong effort in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing eighth in the A finals with a time of 5:45.39. The mark was more than 12 seconds ahead of her previous best time.
• Gaigals continued the trend in the A finals of the 100-yard butterfly when she cut more than three seconds off her previous best time to finish eighth in 1:07.54.
• Not to be outdone, Bailey snagged her first medal of the championships with a third-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Her time of 2:16.51 was more than eight seconds ahead of her previous best.
• Gladu smashed her season best in the 200-yard IM, finishing fifth in the B finals in 2:36.64. She topped her previous best by 10.58 seconds.
• PSU saved the best for last, as senior Sam Morales-Barszcz (Meriden, Conn.) joined forces with Gladu, senior Liana Gobin (Belfast, Maine) and Bennett to annihilate the team's season best mark in the 400-yard medley relay by nearly 34 seconds. The squad took 11th in 5:12.73.

 
Up Next:

• The meet continues with day two on Saturday (Feb. 15). Prelims begin at 10:00 a.m., with finals set for a 6:30 p.m. start.