Results
 
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Mid-American Conference title came down to the very last event as the Missouri State men's swimming and diving team fell by a single point to repeat champion Eastern Michigan at Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium.
 
Kicking off the final session, Missouri State's milers went the distance, bringing in a much needed boost for the Bears. Freshman Antonio Thomas picked up his second gold medal of the week in the 1650-yard free, breaking numerous records with a time of 14:56.02. Cracking the pool and conference record, the freshman broke his own school record and is the first swimmer in MSU history to record a time under 15 minutes.
 
"The mile is always a difficult race for me because I forget how much it hurts at the end," Thomas said. "But to set the mood for the session with a first and third-place finish was such a great way to start the evening. Minki did a great job as well. We've pushed each other all year and to see it pay off like this is amazing."
 
Sophomore Minki Kang also earned a piece of hardware in the 1650 free, touching the wall third with a time of 15:24.13, picking up his second medal and NCAA consideration time of the week. The Bears placed three on the 100 free podium as Samuel Senn, Will Brand and Michael Mollak went 5-6-7 in the event.
 
Continuing his win streak, sophomore Phillip Willett came from behind to win the 200 breaststroke in dramatic fashion. The newcomer broke yet another pool record and worked his way into the Missouri State all-time top-five list after finishing the race in 1:57.07. Christopher Heye also worked his way up the ranks for a third-place finish after completing the event in 1:57.84 – less than half a second shy of his personal record.
 
The Bears continued to rack up the points, sending three swimmers to the 200 fly finals. Junior Kacper Cwiek was the top finisher for Missouri State, picking up his third silver medal of the week in a NCAA "B" standard and career-best time of 1:46.56. Artur Osvath picked up a fourth-place finish and junior Ethan Bresette touched the wall seventh in the event.
 
With no Missouri State representation on the 3-meter board, Eastern Michigan made up ground after finishing 1-3-6-7-8, surpassing the Bears by two points. The deciding factor as to who would win the meet – Missouri State or Eastern Michigan – would come down to the final event of the evning.
 
The Bears entered the 400 freestyle relay needing to finish two spots above Eastern Michigan to close out the championship. Michael Mollak entered the pool first, followed by Samuel Senn, Kacper Cwiek and Will Brand. Missouri State led the race until the final 50 yards when Buffalo snuck up to win the event. Missouri State finished second in 2:59.13 while Eastern Michigan took third place, squeaking past the Bears by 1 point to win the Championship.
 
Despite the second-place finish, Missouri State placed three swimmers on the All-MAC second team and five Bears on the first team. Kang, Mollak and Bresette were named to the second team while Osvath, Thomas, Heye, Willett and Cwiek picked up first-team honors.
 
Bringing in even more accolades, Thomas was dubbed the 2017 MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year. The newcomer won two individual gold medals and set two "B" standard, school records in the 500 and 1650 free, as well as a conference and pool record in his final event.
 
After earning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors two weeks ago, head coach Dave Collins was named the 2017 MAC Coach of the Year after the Bears' performance throughout the season and championship meet.
 
MAC Coach of the Year
Dave Collins
 
MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year
Antonio Thomas
 
MAC First Team
Kacper Cwiek
Christopher Heye
Artur Osvath
Antonio Thomas
Phillip Willett
 
MAC Second Team
Ethan Bresette
Minki Kang
Michael Mollak