Mo State Swim Collects Seven Wins on Day One at SIU

Friday, October 2

Carbondale, Ill.

3:00 p.m.

Missouri State University

Southern Illinois - Day 1

Mo State Swim Collects Seven Wins on Day One at SIU

October 02, 2026 | Swimming and Diving

Day One Results

By: MSU Athletics Communications

DAY ONE COMPLETE RESULTS

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Led by five event wins on the men's side, Missouri State swimming and diving enjoyed a successful opening day to the 2026-27 season here Friday, starting a two-day dual with long-time rival Southern Illinois.

With 10 more events on the slate for Saturday, the Mo State men lead the Salukis, 93-74, while the host school holds a 98-68 lead over the Bears on the women's side at the halfway point.

In his first collegiate meet, freshman Elias Mendez (Stillwater, Okla.) won the 200-yard backstroke (1:48.61) and finished second (1:51.44) in the 200 IM behind teammate Anderson Brown (1:50.09). Brown (Sr., Kyle, Texas) also picked up valuable points with a victory in the 200 butterfly (1:47.95).

I'm really proud of how the team raced today," said Mendez. "Having the atmosphere and energy from the team is crazy, and it felt really good to get my first college win. I'm excited to build from here."

Brown was equally enthusiastic after his pair of Friday wins.

"Heading into this season, all of the guys were extremely pumped and ready to go for championship-level performances," said Brown. "Halfway through the meet, that energy has just carried through. It's awesome to continue seeing the level of camaraderie and ambition from last year carry over into this season. This group has some special potential, and I can't wait to be a part of what we achieve."

Returning NCAA qualifier Kiefer Roemer (So., Bettendorf, Iowa) picked up where he left off last season by dominating the field in the 100-yard breaststroke. Roemer's time of 53.99 secured a solid victory for the Bears.

"I really liked how most of the swims went today for the team, especially with it being the first meet," said Roemer. "It's a good starting point, and I'm excited to see what we can work on and where we can go from here."

Roemer was also part of the winning 400 medley relay team (3:19.02), along with Gonzolo Ruiz (Jr., Madrid, Spain), Jack Ailshire (Jr., Greenwood, Mo.) and anchor Zach Mendez (So., Lansing, Kan.).

Lillie Freulon (Jr., New Caledonia) was Missouri State's top female swimmer on the day, beating the competition to the wall with a victory in the 200 butterfly (2:07.11).

"I'm so happy to be back on the deck with the Bears," said Freulon. "It is so exciting to hear the team cheering when I breathe during my race. That energy helped me get my hand on the wall first today."

Delaney Nickles (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) also posted a Mo State victory and secured a Bears sweep with a mark of 247.80 on the one-meter board. She edged teammates Valeria Meza (Jr., Bentonville, Ark.) who recorded a score of 242.48, and Maggie Arceneaux (Sr., Wildwood, Mo.) who tallied 232.13, over six attempts in the only women's diving competition of the afternoon.

"I think it was a great start to the season for all of us divers," said Nickles. "We have such a great group, so it was nice to hear all the cheering, and even more exciting to see a sweep on the women's side. Especially for a travel meet, I think we started out very strong!"

The Bears and Salukis will resume the meet on Saturday at 10 a.m. with continued live coverage on MeetMobile.

#GoBears

Women's Results (Day One)
1. SIU 98
2. Missouri State 68

Women's 200 Freestyle Relay
2. Missouri State A   1:35:34
4. Missouri State B   1:38.64

Women's 200 IM
2. Ane Meier       2:05.01
3. Aleca Howard       2:06.24
4. Olivia Sala       2:07.27

Women's 500 Free
2. Claire Culberson   5:07.25
3. Evie Kolb       5:07.29
4. Lindsey Hervey   5:08.00

Women's 100 Breast
3. Brylie Ray       1:05.52
4. Lauren Konarske   1:05.58
6. Paige Corbin       1:07.10
8. Kennedy Grosklaus   1:12.67

Women's 200 Backstroke
4. Hadleigh Henslee   2:08.79
6. Olivia Sala       2:10.51
7. Kaitlyn Friebe   2:11.57

Women's 100 Freestyle
2. Makenzie Kurre   0:52.54
3. Anne Meier       0:52.55
5. Cameryn Johnson   0:52.76
7. Macie Kunz       0:53.95

Women's 200 Butterfly
1. Lillie Freulon   2:07.11
3. Addie Ludbrook   2:10.25

Women's 400 Medley Relay
3. Missouri State B   3:53.53
4. Missouri State A   3:53.60
5. Missouri State C   3:56.90

Women's 1M Diving
1. Delaney Nickles   247.80
2. Valeria Hernandez Meza   242.48
3. Maggie Arceneaux   232.13
6. Grace Affeldt   208.88
-- Grace Weisse       194.93
-- Laurel Hunter   205.95

Men's Results (Day One)
1. Missouri State 93
2. SIU 74

Men's 200 Freestyle Relay
2. Missouri State A   1:24:08
4. Missouri State B   DQ

Men's 200 IM
1. Anderson Brown   1:50.09
2. Elias Mendez       1:51.44
4. Onur Ege Oksuz   1:55.13

Men's 500 Free
2. Zach Mendez       4:33.03
3. Tomas Chcholaty   4:36.34
4. Mate Miszlai       4:36.94

Men's 100 Breast
1. Kiefer Roemer   0:53.99
4. Peter Wendol       0:57.94
5. Ethan Nguyen       0:58.47

Men's 200 Backstroke
1. Elias Mendez       1:48.61
2. Gonzolo Ruis Vazquez   1:49.43
4. Onur Ege Oksuz   1:51.32

Men's 100 Freestyle
2. Zach Mendez       0:46.72
4. Jack Ailshire   0:47.25
7. Reece Pangburn   0:48.67

Men's 200 Butterfly
1. Anderson Brown   1:47.95
2. Kayden Hedrick   1:53.14
4. Tomas Chocholaty   1:54.85

Men's 400 Medley Relay
1. Missouri State A   3:19.02
3. Missouri State B   3:24.04

Men's 3M Diving
3. Britton Hooper   297.00
5. Emery Robison   291.53