INDIANAPOLIS – The Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving team set eight new meet records while maintaining the lead on day two of the House of Champions Invitational at the campus of IUPUI on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Going off 585 points from yesterday's action, the Missouri State women upped their score to 1212.5. IUPUI trails the Bears with 945 points while Green Bay sits third with 781 points. On the men's side, the squad increased their total points to 1219, giving the Bears a lead over second-place IUPUI (1128.5) and third-place Indianapolis (811).

Holding their lead, the men's team added 563 points to their total score thanks to five first-place finishes and 19 top-ten times. Six of the men earned "B" standards while the team topped four meet records.

In the men's 400-yard individual medley prelims, Ethan Bresette, Bryce Blattner, Phillip Willett and Christopher Heye finished 2-3-4-5 and senior Brandon Weissman finished seventh, advancing to the finals. In session four, Willett took the crown, finishing first and shattering the meet record (3:57.71) – as well as his personal record (3:58.85) – with his time of 3:50.54. Heye took second (3:51.62) and Blattner placed third (3:56.53), each posting times that topped the meet record as well.

The men, led by Michael Mollak, took the top three spots in the 200yd freestyle finals. Mollak, who finished first, swam a time of 1:37.68 and bested the meet record by .5 seconds. Will Brand finished second in the event, posting a time of 1:37.93. Both athetes achieved "B" standards and topped both swimmer's season records.

The 100yd breaststroke proved to be successful for the Bears as four – Osvath, Nicholas Theunissen, Willett and Uldis Tazans – achieved the "B" standard in the event. Osvath won the finals with a meet record-setting time of 54.15 seconds and Theunissen claimed third, swimming the race in 54.88 seconds. Willett posted a time of 54.87 seconds while Tazans swam a time of 55.15 in his first race of the 2016-17 season.

Freshmen Thomas Heye and Jake Schultz had strong performances in the 100yd backstroke, placing third and fifth, respectively, in the event. Both Bears posted personal bests, bringing in 52 points for the men's squad.

The men brought in two first-place finishes in both the 200yd medley relay and 800yd free relay. The Missouri State 200yd medley A relay – made up of Thomas Heye, Willett, Osvath and Samuel Senn – continued yesterday's trend, setting a new meet record of 1:29.03 in the Bears' golden performance.

Mollak, Cwiek, Brenden Bolman and Brand of the men's 800yd free A relay squad finished first with a time of 6:33.71. The Bears' times in both of the relays were season bests for the men's team.

On the women's side, Missouri State kicked off session four by setting a new meet record in the 200yd medley relay, when the A squad won with its season-best time of 1:42.20. The B relay followed, finishing fourth in the event.

The Bears finished 1-2-3-4 in the 400yd individual medley where Josie Pearson set a new personal season and meet record after finishing first in 4:19.64. Freshmen Sara Bacher (4:22.20) and Vikte Labanauskaite (4:25.58) followed suit, finishing second and third while senior Briana Horozewski (4:27.06) took fourth in the event. All four times topped the meet record of 4:28.14 set back in 2015.

Brianna McCullough was the top finisher for the Bears in the 200yd free as she placed fourth and bested her season record with a time of 1:54.12. Hope Ernhart tied fifth with Audrey Gosnell of Butler when the two each touched the wall in 1:54.26.

Joining the four Bears who earned "B" standard times in the 100yd breast, senior Lauren Pavel achieved the same distinction after posting a meet and career-record time of 1:01.50 to win the event. Senior Anna Bump took third with a time of 1:03.67, missing her career record by just .18 seconds.

The Bears earned big points in the 100yd back as Missouri State took first, second and fourth. Freshman Sarah Allegri swam a first-place time of 55.28 seconds, bringing in 32 points for the women's team. Sydney Zupan and Loretta Stelnicki took second and fourth, to add 54 more points to the women's efforts.

On the 1-meter diving board, freshman Payton Smith earned 175.85 points while senior Alexis Skiniotes brought in 164.75 points in the event.

The women's team rounded out the evening with a first place, meet-record setting time of 7:30.07. Zupan, McCullough, Stelnicki and Labanauskaite's combined time bested the women's season record by an astounding 16.84 seconds.
 
Women's Standings – Day Two

1. Missouri State – 1212.5
2. IUPUI – 945
3. Green Bay – 781
4. Evansville – 751
5. Indianapolis – 653.5
6. Lewis – 467
7. Butler – 383.5
8. Centre College – 319.5
9. Western Illinois – 279
10. Bellarmine – 236
11. Birmingham-Southern – 166
12. Eastern Illinois – 154

 
Men's Standings – Day Two

1. Missouri State – 1219
2. IUPUI – 1128.5
3. Indianapolis – 811
4. Green Bay – 661
5. Lewis – 601
6. Western Illinois – 395.5
7. Evansville – 385
8. Wabash College – 356
9. Birmingham Southern – 2896
10. Eastern Illinois – 182
11. Bellarmine – 180
12. Centre College – 144

The men's and women's swimming and diving team close out the House of Champions Invitational tomorrow (Nov. 20) where the Bears will compete in sessions five and six. Session five is slated at 10 a.m. and session six will begin at approximately 6 p.m.