Sun Belt Conference Championships: Day Two

NASHVILLE, Tennessee, February 20. SIX league records were broken on day two of the Sun Belt Conference Swimming & Diving Championships at the Centennial SportsPlex/Tracy Caulkins Pool in Nashville, Tenn. Western Kentucky University's women's squad in currently in first place with a team score of 274, while Denver continues to pace the men's teams with its score of 473.50.

In the opening event, Denver's Lisa Ginder claimed top honors in the in the 500 Yard Freestyle, setting a new Sun Belt record, along with registering a NCAA Division I B-cut time of 4:49.03. Ginder eclipsed the previous league mark of 4:51.06 by more than two seconds. North Texas' Emily Floyd and Erika Roach rounded out the top three in the event, as Floyd also surpassed the previous SBC record with her time of 4:50.74 and Roach followed with her time of 4:51.98.

Ginder's teammate Blake Worsley followed with a stellar performance of his own, shattering the men's 500 Yard Freestyle record by more than six seconds and defeating his nearest competitor by half a pool-length. Worsley posted a time of 4:14.00 – also a NCAA Division I A-cut – breaking his previous Sun Belt record of 4:20.38. WKU's Sean Penhale, who finished second in the event, also posted a time better than the previous Sun Belt mark of 4:20.48, while achieving a NCAA Division I B-cut time. Denver's Clayton Myers finished third with his time of 4:23.16, also a NCAA B-cut.

In the women's 200 Yard Individual Medley, Denver once again captured the top spot, as Olivia Dean registered a time of 2:02.80. She was followed by WKU's Kara McCarthy (2:03.59) and teammate Shannon Sullivan (2:04.18).

In the men's 200 Yard Individual Medley, Missouri State's Victor Serra continued his impressive swimming, clocking a new Sun Belt record and NCAA B-cut time of 1:47.38, good enough for first place. Denver's Nicholas Brunger came in second with his time of 1:48.04, while MSU's Roko Simunic recorded a time of 1:48.61 – all three surpassing the previous top time of 1:48.65.

Denver picked up its fourth first place finish of the evening, continuing to sweep the women's events on day two, as Katy Motsinger set a new Sun Belt record in the 50 Yard Freestyle with her time of 23.02 – bettering the previous mark by one-hundredth of a second (23.03). She was followed by a pair of WKU's swimmers, as Stephanie Terrell (23.21) and Jennifer Adams (23.42) posted second and third place finishes, respectively.

SIU's Dennis Hedo claimed top honors in the Men's 50 Yard Freestyle, clocking in at a time of 20.20. Missouri State's Dillon Burns was second with his time of 20.25, while New Orleans' Ash Dougan was third with a time of 20.42.

Florida Atlantic picked up its first top finish of the day in the 3M Finals, as Lauren Harvath earned a score of 253.25. WKU's Emily Waits was second with her score of 253.00, while FIU's Namiko Shibata was third with a score of 233.25.

In the final event of the evening, WKU's women's 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team took top honor with their Sun Belt record and NCAA B-cut time of 1:31.63 – eclipsing the institution's previous mark by more than two seconds. Denver claimed second place

Missouri State followed, capturing first place in the men's 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with their own Sun Belt record time of 1:19.40. The Bears time also qualified for a NCAA B cut time. WKU and Denver claimed second (1:20.78) and third place (1:20.78), respectively.

Day three of Sun Belt Conference Swimming & Diving championship action will continue tomorrow at the Centennial SportsPlex/Tracy Caulkins Pool in Nashville, Tenn.

Special thanks to Sun Belt for contributing this report.

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