Results
 
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Missouri State men's swimming and diving team earned one first and third-place finish on the opening day of the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championships on Wednesday to share the early lead with Buffalo.
 
"It's always nice to be up at the top on the first day," head coach Dave Collins said. "Being tied with Buffalo is a good sign for us because we very easily could have been in second or third place. I'm very pleased, but there's a lot of good racing to go."
 
After two events, the Bears and Bulls lead the league with 72 points, followed by Eastern Michigan and host Southern Illinois who have 62 points apiece. Miami (Ohio) holds the number five spot (60), while Evansville and Ball State tie for the sixth spot with 50 points.
 
The Bears' 200 medley relay team – made up of Jacob Schultz, Phillip Willett, Uldis Tazans and Samuel Senn – kicked off the meet with a third-place finish, touching the wall in 1:28.30. Buffalo, who was favored to win the event, took the crown in 1:26.88 followed by host Southern Illinois (1:27.51).
 
"We were okay in the 200 medley, I feel like we came out a little bit cautious but overall we medaled so that is a good start," Collins said. "This group had three newcomers and a sophomore in that relay so it was a very young group. I'm really pleased with how they handled themselves.
 
After earning the bronze, the Bears finished day one on a high note by dominating the 800 freestyle relay in a time of 6:26.98 – just .5 seconds shy of the school record. Missouri State out-swam runner-up Eastern Michigan by seven seconds, earning the first gold medal of the weekend.
 
"The 800 free relay went very well," Collins added. "We knew coming in that race was going to be a great relay for us and we talked a lot about momentum. I feel like winning that relay by half a pool length gives us great momentum going into tomorrow."
 
Michael Mollak, Kacper Cwiek, Artur Osvath and captain Will Brand cut 10.73 seconds off the team's fastest time this season, giving the team ample momentum heading into day two.
 
"Momentum is so crucial in a conference championship," Collins added. "We have talked about trying to win each session individually and take things one session at a time. In a format like this, you can really get ahead of yourself and be looking too far down the road. We are looking at one session at a time and tonight we tied for the win in the session so tomorrow we have to start by winning the prelims session."
 
Day two of the MAC Championship continues tomorrow with prelims beginning at 11 a.m. at Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium. Thursday's finals are slated for 7 p.m. For more information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit www.missouristatebears.com or Twitter.