OXFORD, Ohio - Missouri State's Reese Hodgins dominated the 500-yard freestyle on Day 2 of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday. The senior from Chanhassen, Minnesota turned a top finish in the 500 free prelim (4:26.69) in the morning into a gold-medal swim with a career-best time of 4:25.06 in the final. Now halfway through the meet, the Bears sit in third among the seven teams in the field.

The win marked Missouri State's 11th consecutive 500 free conference championship and 14th in the last 15 years. In that stretch, Hodgins is the eighth different Bear to take gold in the event. Hodgins' gold medal was his second of the week following his record-setting gold in the 800-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday.

Defending event champion, teammate Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama, finished sixth in the 500 free final (4:30.21) after having the third-fastest time in the prelims (4:28.72). George Holesinger finished the event in 10th with a time of 4:30.19 in the B Final. Aiden Dunn (4:32.05) rounded out the Bears' results in the 500 free.

Matvei Chesakov reset his program record in the 50-yard freestyle he set at last year's Mid-American Conference Championships where he took home a silver medal in the event. The sophomore put down a time of 19.71 in the 50 free prelims, second only to Southern Illinois' Alex Santiago (19.27). Chesakov finished the A Final in sixth with a time of 19.97, while Santiago set the Valley record in the event (19.18).

Jack Grandy moved up one spot from last year's sixth-place finish at the MAC Championships in the 200-yard individual medley. The Ohio native not far from his hometown of Cincinnati was less than one-tenth of a second from his personal best time set in last year's prelim round. Freshman Gonzalo Ruiz finished 12th in the event with a time of 1:48.25, up nearly two seconds from his prelim time. Henju Duvenhage of Miami (Ohio) won the event for the fifth consecutive year with a time of 1:43.79 to reset his own Valley record from the prelims.

The Bears ended the swimming portion of the night by securing its third medal in as many relay events so far. The quartet of Ruiz, Luigi Maciel da Silva, Simeon Sabev and Chesakov combined for a team-season-best time of 3:12.13, the fifth-fastest time in program history. 

In diving, Storm Opdahl had the second-highest 1-meter dive prelim score at 313.00. He finished sixth in the finals with a score of 271.50. Logan Schelfaut slotted right behind Opdahl in seventh (245.50). Cole Hysong rounded out the Bears' trio with an 11th-place showing and a score of 256.00. UIC took the top two spots with Harrison Nolan winning gold (343.70), followed by Cole Tremewan (302.60).

Missouri State ended Day 2 sitting in third place in the standings behind host team Miami (Ohio) and Southern Illinois. The third day of the MVC Men's Swimming & Diving Championships continues with prelim events starting at 9:30 a.m. (Central). The finals for the penultimate night of the meet will begin at 5:00 p.m. CT. The championships can be viewed on Chatterbox Sports.

Standings after Day 2

1.    Miami (Ohio) - 304
2.    Southern Illinois - 272
3.    Missouri State - 217
4.    UIC - 180
5.    Ball State - 135
6.    Valparaiso - 74
7.    Evansville - 56

Tomorrow's Events

Day 3: Friday, Feb. 21
Prelims: 9:30 a.m. CT
Finals: 5:00 p.m. CT
- 100-yard Butterfly
- 400-yard Individual Medley
- 200-yard Freestyle
- 100-yard Breaststroke
- 100-yard Backstroke
- 3-meter Diving (Prelims, B-Final)
- 200-yard Freestyle Relay