Meet Results  | Diving Results
 
OXFORD, Ohio – Despite an early push and impressive efforts in the opening events, the Missouri State men's swimming and diving team earned the runner-up spot at the Mid-American Conference championship at the Corwin Nixon Aquatic Center.  
 
"I am proud of the way this team continued to fight all the way to the end," said head coach Dave Collins. "We raced tough, but got beat by a good Miami (Ohio) team."
 
After leading for a majority of the final day, the Bears ended the championship with 899 points. Miami (Ohio) took home the title in its home pool, collecting 957.5 for its first program trophy since 2006.
 
Southern Illinois ranked third with 606.5 points. Evansville and Ball State rounded out the remaining competitors in fourth and fifth-place, totaling 339.5 and 320.5 points, respectively.
 
Kicking off the final session, Pawel Krawczyk earned his third individual title of the championship in the 1650 freestyle, posting a time of 15:07.57. He was not alone, however, as Antonio Thomas, Minki Kang, and Sebastian Odent swept the top-four spots for the Bears for a much needed boost.
 
After the impressive performance, Coach Collins' squad edged past Miami (Ohio) for their first lead of the night.
 
Adding onto his second-place finish the previous evening, Conner Ripp acquired his first gold medal of the championship in the 200 backstroke to widen the point margin for the Bears. Bryce Blattner and Thomas Heye added more key points to Missouri State's total, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.
 
"As a team I think we should be proud of the way raced everyday over these past nine months," said Ripp. "We left all in the pool and there's nothing more anyone could have asked for."
 
Lucas Paloschi notched his second first-place finish of the championship in the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 44.28. Less than half a second separated Paloschi from fellow teammate and fifth-place finisher Samuel Senn, who nabbed a time of 44.59.
 
"Tonight was special for me, as it was my final meet as a Bear," said Paloschi. "I am happy that I ended my career with an awesome and supportive group of guys."

Blair Bish and Artur Osvath headlined the next two events for the Bears, each taking the silver medal in the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly.
 
Miami (Ohio) regained ground on the 3 meter diving boards, placing 1-2-5 to surpass the Bears for first-place. Michael Claunch and John David Spence represented the Bears on the podium in fourth and eighth, respectively.
 
The Redhawks would cement their title in the 400 freestyle relay, slipping past Missouri State by barely a second for the gold. Paloschi, Senn, Jacob Schultz, and Ripp settled for the runner-up spot with a time of 2:57.46.
 
Despite the second-place finish, Missouri State garnered seven swimmers on the All-MAC first team and five on the second team. Krawczyk, Osvath, Paloschi,  Bish, Ripp, Thomas, and Kang were the first-team honorees while Senn, Blattner, Heye, Odent, and Schultz took second-team laurels.

Standout Osvath was recognized as the 2019 MAC Most Outstanding Senior after a phenomenal season with the Bears.
 
Pawel Krawczyk also represented the Bears in the specialty awards, taking home the 2019 MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year after an outstanding performance in the freestyle events.
 
"I am proud of our team's fight," said Krawczyk. "For that, we are all winners."
 
 
Final Team Results
1. Miami - 957.5
2. Missouri State - 899 
3. Southern Illinois - 606.5
4. Evansville - 339.5
5. Ball State - 320.5

Most Outstanding Swimmer: Iago Moussalem, Miami
Swimming Coach of the Year: Hollie Bonewit-Cron, Miami 
Freshmen Swimmer of the Year: Pawel Krawczyk, MSU
Most Outstanding Diver: Harrison Moncino, Miami 
Diving Coach of the Year: KR Li, Miami 
Freshman Diver of the Year: Hunter Ongay, Ball State
Most Outstanding Senior: Artur Osvath, Missouri State
 
All-MAC 1st Team
Pawel Krawczyk, MSU
Artur Osvath, MSU
Lucas Paloschi, MSU
Harrison Moncino, Miami
James McGuire, Miami
Iago Moussalem, Miami
Blair Bish, MSU
Jacob Peloquin, Miami
Conner Ripp, MSU
Noah Barr, Miami
Antonio Thomas, MSU
Kayky Mota, Miami
Nic Wamsley, Miami
Gordon Wheeler, Miami
Minki Kang, MSU

All-MAC 2nd Team
Nick Ward, Miami
James Wray, Miami
Spencer Klinsky, Miami
Samuel Senn, MSU
Diego Valentim, Miami
Chris Phillips, SIU
FuKang Wang, SIU
Reilly Garman, SIU
Thomas Heye, MSU
Chris Cole, SIU
Sebastian Odent, MSU
Tamas Hajtman, SIU
Jake Precious, Miami
Bryce Blatter, MSU
Ryan Nash, Miami
Jake Schultz, MSU