Day Three Results:
The Bears turned in more solid individual performances on the final day of the Purdue Invitational.
The best finish of the invitational for the Bears came in the women's 100-yard freestyle. Sophomore Amber Green earned a NCAA "B" cut with her time of 50.14, placing second in the event and setting a new school record. For the men, senior Dillon Burns came in 12th with a time of 46.52, while junior Jeff Bentz finished 14th with his time of 46.81.
In the 200-yard backstroke, freshman Anna Ahlin came in 13th-place with her time of 2:02.80. This time improves upon her already conference-best mark, and moves her into second on the Missouri State all-time list in the event. For the men, sophomore Aaron Henry turned in a new personal-best time of 1:51.23 in the event. He placed 7th and is now the third-fastest time in the Mid-American Conference in the event. Two other Bears scored in the event, sophomore Daan Jansen (1:53.47) and junior Bryson Cramer (1:53.87) placed 13th and 14th, respectively.
Senior Chris Novak led the way for the breaststroke group in the 200-yard breaststroke. The Olympic Trials qualifier placed sixth with a time of 2:06.51. Freshman Gilles Cantrelle touched the wall at 2:05.43 for a tenth-place finish and fellow freshman Colin Hill rounded out the team scoring in the event, finishing 16th with a time of 2:11.25.
Reigning MAC champion in the 200-yard butterfly, Nick Carter, turned in a time of 1:54.78, earning him 13th.
In the punishing 1650-yard freestyle, junior Dimitra Drakopoulou paced all Missouri State swimmers, touching the wall at 17:02.86, finishing in 13th. Drakopoulou finished ahead of reigning MVC Swimmer of the Year Kirsten Groome in the event. On the men's side of the event, Jansen was the top finisher for the Bears, finishing at 16:00.42. Though his time is a full minute faster than the previous conference mark, Jansen finished just behind Southern Illinois Csaba Gercsak. Jansen's time is currently the second-fastest in the MAC.
After the conclusion of all events, the men finished in fifth place as a team, while the women finished sixth. Several Bear individuals performed very well. Among the accolades from the invitational were several new conference best times, a new school record and two new entries to the Missouri State all-time top five.
Day Two Results:
Missouri State swimming and diving began the second day with a phenomenal performance in the men's 400-yard individual medley. Sophomore Daan Jansen turned in a time of 4:00.43 in the event and became the third Bear to win a bronze in the invitational. He also set the bar in the Mid-American Conference, topping the previous season best by an astounding 10 seconds.
The men also had a strong showing in the 200-yard freestyle from sophomore Nick Carter, whose 1:41.02 earned him an 11th-place finish.
The Bears breaststroke group turned in a very good performance. Senior Chris Novak, the men's top breaststroker, touched the wall at 58.48 in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing tenth in the event. Sophomore Waldo Broodryk was close behind with a time of 59.74, finishing 14th, while freshman Colin Hill finished 15th with a time of 1:00.20.
Both the men and women impressed in the 100-yard backstroke. For the women, senior Chelsea Dirks-Ham placed eighth with a time of 56.99, a new MVC season best. For the men, Carter showed the talent that earned him MSU swimmer of the year honors last season, placing fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.64, the number two time in the MAC. Sophomore Aaron Henry also earned team points with his eleventh-place finish and a time of 51.67.
To round out the individual events, senior Eric Ducourneau continued to compete with the nation's best. He placed fourth on the three-meter board with a score of 332.25. Ducourneau is now third in the conference in the three-meter and second on the one-meter.
Day One Results:
In the 200-yard IM, sophomore Daan Jansen finished 11th with a time of 1:53.81, currently the second-fastest time in the MAC. The sprint duo of sophomore Amber Green (23.10) and Dillon Burns (20.51) placed third in their respective 50-yard freestyle events, setting new conference bests for both. Green's time was a new personal best and second-best mark in school history. In the men's 50-yard freestyle, junior Jeff Bentz added a 14th place finish with his time of 21.16.
In the diving, senior Eric Ducourneau competed with some of the best divers in the country. In fact, the reigning NCAA champion in the one and three meter boards competed at the meet. Ducourneau was unfazed, and turned in an impressive score of 288.05 on the one-meter, earning him fifth place. This score is currently the second-best score in the MAC on the one-meter board.
