AUSTIN, Texas – Artur Osvath and Blair Bish concluded their careers as part of the Missouri State men's swimming program with strong performances in the 200 breaststroke preliminaries Saturday at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. 
 
"Today we celebrate the highest finish in Missouri State history and more importantly two program changing guys competing for the last time," said Head Coach Dave Collins. "It has been an absolute pleasure to be on this journey with Artur and Blair, and I am so proud of what they have done for our program."
 
Both Bish and Osvath competed in the 200 breaststroke preliminaries, their final race representing MSU.
 
Osvath earned a top-20 placement, coming in at 20^th, touching the wall at the 1:54.32 mark. The time is a season-high for Osvath, besting his previous time of 1:55.88 at the Iowa Hawkeye Invitational.
 
"I think this was a great last meet for both of us," said Osvath. "These past four years were the best in my life, and I am happy I got to represent MSU at the NCAA Championships one last time."
 
A day after earning All-American honorable mention honors in the 100 breaststroke, Bish sported a 35^th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke at 1:55.57.
 
"Swimming for Missouri State has been a privilege that I will cherish forever," said Bish. "I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish over the last two years and I'm excited to see how the program grows from here."
 
The Bears finish the NCAA Championships with their highest team score in program history, pulling in seven points to tie for 36th alongside Wisconsin, Denver, and Notre Dame.
 
"Watching Artur and Blair race this week has been bittersweet," said Associate Head Coach Chelsea Dirks-Ham. "It's inspiring to be on deck at NCAAs and for it to be the last meet of both their careers is very special. They are both irreplaceable and have been such special contributors to our program."

This is the seventh consecutive year Missouri State has finished its season on the big stage.
 
For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.