Results (Day 1 Prelims)| Schedule|Follow @MoStateSwim

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Three Missouri State student-athletes competed in their opening events in the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday, March 26, at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium at the University of Iowa.

Senior Paul Le and junior Uvis Kalnins raced for the Bears in the 200 IM, the third set of preliminaries.

Kalnins swam in heat 6 and touched the wall in a time of 1:44.47 for a 23rd-place finish overall. His time was 0.79 seconds off from 16th place, a position which would have given him a second swim and at least All-American honorable mention accolades.

His 2015 finish comes in 12 slots higher than in his previous appearance last season, when he placed 35th in Austin, Texas.

Le competed in heat 5 for the Bears. Despite leading for a portion of the heat, the Moore, Okla., native was disqualified for an illegal use of a dolphin kick on the breaststroke leg.

"This meet obviously is a high level of competition and you've got to be at your best," Bears head coach Dave Collins said. "We did a good job this morning of being ready. Paul [Le's] 200 IM didn't quite come together as far getting disqualified for something he's never been disqualified for in his life. Uvis [Kalnins] had a good swim and it just wasn't quite good enough to score."

Senior Garrett Nevels served as the first Missouri State diver in the past 25 years to compete at the NCAA Championships, appearing in the 1-meter preliminaries Thursday. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native eventually scored 252.60 points on the 1-meter board and finished in 47th place.

"Garrett [Nevels] did a great job," Collins said. "He's been very consistent to this point. I'm pleased with the way these guys reacted and I thought they did a nice job of getting into the meet, and we've just got to take advantage of the opportunities left in the next two days.

The 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships continue at 11 a.m. in the CRWC Natatorium Friday, March 27. All three Bears will compete on the second day of championship prelims. Kalnins will swim in the 400 IM, Le in the 100 backstroke and Nevels will dive on the 3-meter board. Live video and results for prelims are available on the Championship Central page provided by Iowa, while Friday's finals will be aired online at ESPN3.com.

"We have to be very, very good and everything has to go our way," Collins said of tomorrow's events. "With our opportunities we have moving forward, we just have to make sure we maximize as much as we can. We're excited and I'm very proud of how they've represented Missouri State. It's fun to walk around a meet like this, and the bear head is now being more recognized than it ever has been. That's special and that's something we can walk away no matter how the rest of this meet goes, knowing that we're represented well at the national level."

#MSUBears