EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Missouri State men's and women's swimming & diving teams have ended day two of competition at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, at the Deaconess Aquatic Center. The men are currently in first place in the standings with 744 points, while the women are in third with 631.5 points. There are two more days of competition ahead.
Day Two
The MSU men had a brilliant day across individual and team races on the second day of competition, propelling them to the top of the leaderboard with 744 points in front of Miami University (732.5) and Southern Illinois with (579.5). After qualifying for the finals in the preliminary rounds, three Bears finished on a podium individually along with one relay team.
Sophomore Mate Miszlai was the first to get to the podium earning a silver medal in the 400-yard individual medley (3:50.20). Junior Anderson Brown was right behind him, finishing in third (3:51.45).
Freshman Zach Mendez earned yet another medal with a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:34.99).
The men's best performance came in the very last race of the day, with senior Gonzalo Ruiz, freshman Kiefer Roemer, sophomore Jack Ailshire and senior Lucas Chadwell winning gold in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:25.61.
The MSU women progressed impressively across individual races on day two. They are third in the overall team standings with 631.5 points, behind Indiana State in first (639) points and Southern Illinois in second (634). After qualifying for the finals in the preliminary rounds, three Bears finished in the top three.
Sophomore Lillie Freulon opened the second day of competition with a gold medal performance in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.25.
Junior Makenzie Kurre duplicated this result with her own gold in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.14).
Sophomore Delaney Nickles earned a bronze medal in the one-meter dive with a score of 244.40.
Day One
The MSU men opened the championship powerfully across individual and team races on the first day of competition. This placed them in second position on the overall team standings with 420.5 points, behind Miami University who earned 490. After qualifying for the finals in the preliminary rounds, two Bears finished on a podium individually along with one relay team.
Freshman Zach Mendez was not only the first gold medal winner for the Bears but also set a brand new MVC record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:19.72. Sophomore Ilias El Fallaki was right behind his teammate finishing in second place with a time of 4:20.78.
In the last race of the day, sophomore Gonzalo Ruiz, senior Luigi da Silva, sophomore Jack Ailshire and senior Lucas Chadwell earned bronze in the 400-yard medley.
The MSU women also opened competition with strong showings across individual and team races on day one. This placed them in second position on the overall team standings with 325.5 points, behind Southern Illinois who earned 366. After qualifying for the finals in the preliminary rounds, one Bear finished in the top three, paired with one team top three finish.
Senior Lana Janson earned bronze in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.82).
Senior Olivia Sala, Janson, sophomore Lillie Freulon and junior Makenzie Kurre finished in second place with a time of 3:40.36.
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