LITTLE ROCK -- Lake Hamilton sixth-grade swimmer Aubrey Schmitt registered a plethora of personal bests at the USA-Spring Splash Invitational at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Competing in the long-course invitational, Schmitt also set two Central Arkansas Racers 11-12 female team records and won high-point in her age division.
Schmitt broke team records in the 1500-meter freestyle (19:50.82) and 800-meter freestyle (10:35.22). She also set personal bests in the 200-meter freestyle (2:25.77), 50-meter freestyle (31.31), 100-meter breaststroke (1:32.50), 100-meter freestyle (1:08.93), 100-meter backstroke (1:20.02), 200-meter individual medley (2:48.27) and 50-meter backstroke (37.40).
In her division, Schmitt won the 100-meter breastroke, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley. She finished second in the 50-meter backstroke.
REDDIES OPEN NCAA
REGIONAL PLAY
ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State starts the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament against Northeastern State in Magnolia today at 2 p.m.
The Reddies enter the regional as the No. 3 seed, and Northeastern State comes in as the No. 6 seed. Southern Arkansas is hosting the regional as the No. 2 seed.
HSU (38-15) finished second to SAU in the Great American Conference Tournament at Majestic Park and earned the title of highest-seeded at-large team in the region.
The Reddies' game Thursday marks the first time the program will play an NCAA Tournament game as the higher seed.
HSU competed in a successful spring, setting program records with 38 wins, 23 conference victories and a 14-0 win streak to start the season.
The Reddies boast a team ERA of 4.28, good for 28th in the nation. HSU is batting .288 on the year and finished second in the GAC with 111 doubles on the season.
Northeastern State is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after a 37-16 season. One of the best offensive teams in the country, the RiverHawks boast a batting average of .330 and a national-high 117 home runs.
Northeastern State is one of 12 teams in the country with 600 or more hits, and the RiverHawks are No. 3 nationally in slugging percentage at .609.
Looking at the highest seed in the regional, SAU (41-11) won both the GAC regular season and tournament titles this year.
The Muleriders went 16-3 at home inside Walker Stadium and Goodheart Field and won 27 games in the GAC.
SAU is hitting .314 as a team, and the Muleriders have the GAC pitcher of the year Jeremy Adorno (14-0).
Rounding out the Magional Regional, No. 7 Washburn is also making its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Washburn finished the season 33-20 and grabbed the No. 7 seed after winning four games in the MIAA Tournament in Edmond, Oklahoma.
The Ichabods are batting .301 and have an ERA of 5.78.
The regional format is double elimination and with a loss today, the Reddies will play at 2 p.m. Friday. With a win, HSU will take the field at 6 p.m. Friday.
SMITH JOINS ASHOF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame announced it appointed Oaklawn General Manager Wayne Smith to its board of directors Tuesday.
Smith is currently a board member of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, serves as a member of the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission and is an executive board member of Fifty for the Future.
"We are proud to welcome Wayne to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame board," ASHOF President Greg Hatcher said in a release. "His decades of experience in gaming and dedication to the community will help grow our organization's impact and success tremendously."
Smith has also sat on multiple local advisory committees and is only the sixth person in Oaklawn's 115-year history to hold the title of general manager.
"I'm honored to serve on the ASHOF's board of directors alongside an incredible group of individuals who are fully committed to preserving and promoting the history and future of Arkansas sports," Smith said.
REDDIES FINISH SEMESTER WITH GPA OVER 3.0
ARKADELPHIA -- Henderson State Athletics finished the 2022 spring semester with a 3.19 GPA, marking the 11th consecutive academic semester the Reddies finished with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Every women's team at HSU boasted a GPA of 3.0 or better and in total, 12 of HSU's 14 teams finished with a GPA of 3.0 or better.
HSU football tallied the highest GPA of all the men's programs at 3.16, and women's basketball led the department as a whole with a GPA of 3.74.
"I am proud to once again announce that our student-athletes have reached this important benchmark of academic success in the spring semester," HSU athletic director Shawn Jones said in a release. "Our emphasis on the total student experience continues to be evident as we have now reached a departmental GPA of 3.0 or better every semester since the spring of 2017."