Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Day One

CARBONDALE, Illinois, February 17. MISSOURI State started the night off strong leading from the start in the 200 yard freestyle relay and finishing with a new MVC, championship and pool record. The team of Amber Green, Ali Stauffer, Janke Engelbrecht and Anna Ahlin earned Missouri State's first gold with their time of 1:33.11. Illinois State took second-place (11:34.97), Southern Illinois came in third (1:35.47) with Evansville and UNI taking fourth and fifth, respectively.

Southern Illinois' Kirsten Groome continued her dominance during the 500 yard freestyle. Groome, the current championship and pool record holder, finished in 4:53.82 earning 20 points for the Salukis. Missouri State's Dimi Drakopoulous took second-place (4:57.48, 17 pts.) and Evansville's Christina Schmidgall claimed third (4:58.06).

Missouri State controlled the pool in the 200 yard IM, breaking yet another record. For the third consecutive year, Brianna Willoughby is the 200 yard IM champion. Her time of 2:04.51 is a new MVC Championship record, which has been in place since 2005. Willoughby's teammates, Renata Sander and Anna Ahlin round out the top three with times of 2:06.41 and 2:06.43, respectively.

The trend of breaking records continues in the 50 yard freestyle. Defending champion, Amber Green, claimed the gold again in record setting fashion. A sophomore on the Bears' squad, Green broke the MVC Championship and pool record touching in 22.54. Luisa Silveira of Southern Illinois came in second-place with her time of 23.77 and Evansville's Michea Reinitz came in third (23.78).

In the one-meter diving competition, UNI sophomore, Bethany Olson took home the gold with her stellar performance. Olson had a final score of 265.75, which was the top score by almost 14 points. Evansville took the remaining top spots in Jennifer Childers and Sadie Wells (251.50, 241.60).

The final event of the night didn't disappoint. The 400 yard medley relay was an exciting one with Missouri State coming out on top for the second year in a row with their time of 3:49.70. Evansville came in second-place after touching in 3:50.66 with Southern Illinois right behind them at 3:50.78.

After one day of competition the scores are: Missouri State 291.5, Illinois State 198, Southern Illinois 174, Evansville 169, Northern Iowa 115.5

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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