COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind a record-breaking 800 freestyle relay effort from Grace Beahan, Anna Miller, Alex Thorson, and Libby Howell, Missouri State's women's swimming & diving squad finished Wednesday evening with a solid first-place lead in day one of the MVC Championship at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.

MSU clocked in a 7:16.33 top time in the long-distance event to overtake Southern Illinois' previous relay record set in 2016. The Bears swam away with the victory, beating the runner-up by a 10-second differential.

"That was an amazing relay to swim," said Miller. "The energy we had behind the blocks was special and I am so proud of my teammates for the way they swam today."
 

?? NEW CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD ??

800-free-relay goes to the #MSUBears!!!

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— MSU Swimming (@MoStateSwim) February 20, 2020

At the end of day one, MSU leads by a six-point margin with 74 points. SIU ends opening day in second with 68, and UNI rounds out the top three with 66 points.

In the opening 200 medley relay race, Sarah Allegri, Yuliya Zubina, Ulyana Zubina, and Anna Miller clocked a runner-up time of 1:41.51 to start championship action.

Thursday will begin with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. The events for tomorrow are the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, 1-meter dive (1-8), and 200 freestyle relay at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo. 

For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.