The Missouri State swimming and diving teams won the Delta State Christmas Invitational. Both the men and women edged out conference foe University of Evansville to take home top honors.
The women opened the first day of the meet with a strong note, winning the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.00. The men finished second in their race, with a time of 1:25.47.
In the next race, the 500-yard freestyle, both the men and women were in very competitive heats. Junior Dimitra Drakopoulou finished third with her time of 5:06.08, while senior Katharina Voelkel finished fifth at 5:09.34. For the men, sophomore Daan Jansen finished second with a time of 4:41.85. The 200-yard individual medley was an event where Missouri State freshman stepped up. Freshman Anna Ahlin turned in a time of 2:09.43. She finished third in the event. Freshman Colin Hill finished second for the men with his time of 1:57.06.
The duo of senior Dillon Burns and junior Jeff Bentz continued their excellence in the 50-yard freestyle. Bentz was the first individual to win a race for the Bears with his time of 21.08 and Burns finished third at 21.27.
The 400-yard medley relay was the last swimming event of the day. The Missouri State women finished second with a time of 3:56.88, while the men won the event with a time of 3:30.74.
The diving events went well for the Bears, as well. Senior Eric Ducourneau put up a score of 271.25 on the three-meter board for the men, with teammate freshman Cameron Wilson finishing a close second with his score of 265.35. The freshman trio of Lindsey Conway (226.85), Paige Koebbe (213.40) and Kelsey Burgin (205.05) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the one-meter board for the women.
In the second day of competition, Ahlin continued to impress with a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:33.82. Her male counter-part, junior Bryson Cramer finished second in the men's race with a time of 4:12.23.
Sophomore Amber Green turned in a time of 56.74 in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing first. This time moves Green into third all-time at Missouri State in the event. This is the third event in which Green has moved into the all-time top five this season.
Senior Chris Novak swam well in the 100-yard breaststroke. His time of 58.68 put him second in the event.
Jansen made it to the podium again in the 100-yard backstroke, placing third with his time of 53.41.
To wrap up the day, the teams swam in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The women's team of Drakopoulou, Green, Ahlin and junior Katie Lindeman finished first with a time of 7:46.93. The men also topped the field with their squad of Cramer, freshman Jared Roberts, Hill and Jansen, who came in at 7:01.76.
Missouri State began the final day of competition with a strong showing from the distance group in the 1650-yard freestyle. On the women's side, senior Katharina Voelkel won the event with a time of 17:20.10 while junior Dimitra Drakopoulou finished in second with her time of 17:28.63. Sophomore Daan Jansen touched the wall at 16:26.36, finishing second. Freshman Jared Roberts finished at 16:32.05, good enough for third place.
In the 200-yard backstroke, freshman Anna Ahlin continued to excel, winning the event with a time of 2:03.84. Junior Brianna Willoughby finished third with a time of 2:10.39. The men also competed well, with sophomore Aaron Henry (1:54.58) and junior Bryson Cramer (1:56.25) finishing first and second, respectively.
Sophomore Amber Green led the way in the 100-yard freestyle with her time of 50.49. Senior Dillon Burns finished second for the men with a time of 46.35.
Sophomore Melissa Oishi finished the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:22.12, finishing second in the event. Senior Chris Novak won the men's race with a time of 2:09.08.
Ducourneau and Wilson continued to turn in more impressive scores on the one-meter board. Ducourneau's score of 285.90 earned him first place. Wilson finished third with his score of 245.20. For the women, Burgin lead the way for Missouri State, finishing third with her score of 229.60.
The final individual event of the meet was the 200-yard butterfly. Junior Katie Lindeman was the top finisher for the Bears, coming in at second place with at time of 2:11.29. For the men, freshman Colin Hill came in third place with his time of 1:56.61.
To cap off the Bears stellar meet, both the men and women won the 400-yard freestyle relay. The women's time of 3:31.21 was only .7 seconds ahead of Evansville, who finished second on the day. The men's race was even closer, with the men coming in at 3:08.96, a mere .32 seconds ahead of Evansville.
Next up for Missouri State is the Tunica Invitational on Jan. 7-8. The Bears were the invitational champions at last season's Tunica Invitational.
