OXFORD, Ohio. – The Missouri State men's swimming team garnered ten all-conference citations while finishing as the runner-up at the 2021 Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday night in Oxford, Ohio. 
 
Pawel Krawczyk, Dylan Moffatt, Michael Claunch, Arthur Cury, Michael Hampel and AJ Huskey all garnered first-team All-MAC honors. While Jonathan Hill, John David Spence, Jimmy Doromal and Robbie Hill were named second-team All-MAC. 
 
"There was an incredible fight from this team," Hampel said. "I have never seen a group of men battle through adversity as this team did. We are extremely excited for what the future holds and the best is yet to come." 
 
Overall, the Bears finished second with a three-day accumulated team total of 687 points. Championship hosts Miami (Ohio) were the team champions with a total of 932 points. Southern Illinois finished third with 588.5 points, while Ball State took fourth (511.5) and Evansville (301) finished fifth. 
 
"I am so proud of our guys," head coach Dave Collins said. "They competed extremely tough this week. More than the races and the dives, I am proud of their full commitment to each other, our staff, and Missouri State. This was a special year." 
 
Two individual wins highlighted the final session for MSU as Michael Hampel and Dylan Moffatt grabbed gold medals. Hampel won the 200 breaststroke in 1:57.01, edging out runner-up Noah Barr of Miami (Ohio) by 17 hundredths of a second. Moffatt won his first career gold in the 1650 free as he dominated the field with a blistering time of 15:06.37, finishing 26 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor. 
 
"The feeling was great," Moffatt proclaimed. "It felt like I energized our team starting the final session. It's a moment I'll never forget." 
 
Missouri State clinched ten finals spots in the preliminary round Saturday morning. In the 200 backstroke prelims, Robbie Hill (4th, 1:49.92) and Jonathan Hill (7th, 1:51.11) qualified for a finals spot. Arthur Cury finished in a rare three-way tie for sixth-place (44.97) in the 100 free prelims to punch his ticket to the finals. Missouri State had a strong showing in the 200 breaststroke prelims as Michael Hampel (3rd, 2:00.90), Jimmy Doromal (5th, 2:01.86) and Nick Schuster (8th, 2:03.01) all reached the finals. MSU made the most of its final preliminary event as four Bears qualified for the finals in the 200 butterfly. Pawel Krawczyk led the Bears with a second-place finish (1:47.09) while AJ Huskey (4th, 1:48.39), James Vaughn (7th, 1:49.60) and Tyler Lewis (9th, 1:50.09) followed. 
 
Prior to the start of the final session, senior diver Michael Claunch was awarded the MAC Outstanding Senior Award. Over the course of three MAC Championships, Claunch collected two gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal across both boards throughout his career.   
 
In the 200 backstroke finals, Missouri State was represented by the Hill brothers on national sibling day. Robbie Hill won a silver medal by clocking in at 1:46.02, while Jonathan Hill followed in sixth with a time of 1:49.24. 
 
Arthur Cury was the Bears' lone representative in the 100 free, where he swam a 44.37 to finish fourth. 
 
Jimmy Doromal and Nick Schuster followed up the gold medal performance of Hampel in the 200 backstroke, with Dormal finishing fifth (2:00.27) and Schuster taking eighth (2:01.92). 
 
MSU's best all-around performance might have been in the 200 butterfly as all four Bears swam lifetime bests. Pawel Krawczyk and AJ Huskey both grabbed medals as Krawczyk finished second (1:44.61) while AJ Huskey finished third (1:46.56). Rounding out MSU was James Vaughn in sixth (1:49.12) and Tyler Lewis in 10th (1:49.04). 
 
In 3-Meter Diving, John David Spence led the Bears' efforts as he collected a silver medal as he posted a 291.40 mark while Michael Claunch finished fourth with a 287.55 and Trevor Fischer took sixth with a 275.60. 
 
"We had a great finish to the MAC Championship with three divers in the A Finals on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards," head diving coach Jim Huelskamp stated. "The future looks good with John David Spence and Trevor Fisher. I want to thank Michael Claunch for being a great team leader." 
 
MSU closed out the final session with a third-place finish in the 400 free relay where Krawczyk, Robbie Hill, Cury and Jonathan Hill combined to swim a 2:59.32. 
 
The MSU men's swimming and diving team has concluded the 2020-2021 swimming season and will be back in action in the fall of 2021. The MSU women's swimming and diving team will finish their season April 14-16 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Carbondale, Ill. 
 
Final Standings 
 
1 Miami University (Ohio) Miami University (Ohio) 932 
2 Missouri State University Missouri State University 687  
3 Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University 588.50  
4 Ball State University Ball State University 511.50  
5 University of Evansville University of Evansville 301