NORMAL, Ill. – Zoe Smith shattered the Indiana State 3-Meter Diving record and the Sycamores set two Horton Pool records on Saturday afternoon as ISU topped host Illinois State, 194-106.
 
The Sycamores won the first five events of the day and 12 of the 16 total events in the dual meet on their way to picking up their second win of the season over the Redbirds. ISU previously topped Illinois State at the Valley Showcase back in October, 913-742.
 
"I'm proud of how the team handled today," head coach Josh Christensen said. "Illinois State is a strong team and we knew they would be really tough at home. We weren't perfect, but we did a great job racing tough and had some people step up in key places."
 
Smith became the first Indiana State diver to eclipse the 300-point mark in program history as the junior's total of 309.15 shattered ISU's previous high set by Ellie Christie back in 2018 against Illinois (283.27). Smith topped the field by 15 points in topping Illinois State's Eva Reyes (294.53) for the event win.
 
Due to the nature of Saturday's meet, the 3M diving event was the first event of the day. Christensen remarked that Smith's performance on the diving board established the Sycamores early in the key road matchup.
 
"The divers really set the tone today," Christensen said. "With how the meet was run, we were all able to focus on them and cheer them on. They responded in a big way. Zoe's 3M performance was tremendous. Coach (Teresa) Hall has done an excellent job with that group."
 
Marni Gray continued to showcase her dominance in the 100-Fly as the senior set a new Horton Pool mark with a time of 56.36. Gray jumped out to an early lead following her 26.07 split at the 50-yard mark and cruised to the win by 1.58 seconds ahead of teammate Raine Boles (57.94).
 
ISU's 400-yard Freestyle Relay team also took home a pool record as the Sycamores quartet of Chloe Farro, Peyton Heagy, Kaimi Matsumoto, and Alexa Szadorski touched the wall in 3:29.00. The Sycamores topped the field by two full seconds ahead of Illinois State's A-Team (3:31.08) in closing out the meet with the win.
 
Smith and the divers put the first Indiana State points on the board with her record-setting performance. Bailey Betzer finished third in the early going with a 270.98, while Daniela Orta Castaneda put together a 213.53 to place seventh.
 
The Sycamores picked up their second win of the meet in the 200-yard Medley Relay as the group of Carmen Alard Vegas, Matsumoto, Gray, and Szadorski took home the victory after touching the wall in 1:45.42. ISU added third- and fifth-place results in the relay event with the B-Team of Madie Rutan, Elle Gilkerson, Boles, and Farro finishing in 1:47.48, while Olivia DiRuzza, Makayla Sura, Rebecca Shaffer, and Marissa Kozel finished in 1:54.06.
 
Esther Rydbeck Norden's finishing kick led her to the win in the 1000-yard Freestyle. The junior was the lone swimmer to post sub-31 second splits over the final 150 yards on her way to winning the event by over four seconds after touching in 10:31.56. Molly Fogarty finished third in the field in 10:41.78, while Rose Parsons took fourth in 10:44.83.
 
Heagy continued to make the 200-yard Freestyle her signature event as the freshman cruised to the nearly two-second win with a time of 1:53.55. Jordan Gruce finished third overall in 1:56.60, while Sarah Moreau finished in 1:56.99 to highlight ISU's scorers on the afternoon.
 
Rutan and Alard Vegas went 1-2 in the 100-yard Backstroke, while Alexandria Cotter finished fifth overall as the Sycamores took points in all three spots in the event. Rutan was first to the wall in 57.89, while Alard Vegas touched in 57.97. Cotter rounded out the group in 59.71.
 
Matsumoto, Szadorski, and Gilkerson were all in the top-five for the Sycamores in the 100-yard Breaststroke. Matsumoto finished second overall in 1:05.76, while Szadorski touched in third in 1:05.80. Gilkerson added a fifth-place result in 1:07.67.
 
Continuing the trend of showcasing the Sycamore depth, three more ISU athletes finished in the top-five in the 200-yard Butterfly led by Gray's second-place result in 2:07.41. Haley Halsall finished fourth in 2:08.17, while Katie Dougherty was fifth in 2:08.48.
 
ISU picked up points in three spots in the 50-yard Freestyle led by Farro's 24.30 second-place finish. Kalli Agapios was fourth overall in 24.99, while Boles finished fifth in 25.03.
 
Indiana State was back on top of the podium after the first break of the day with Farro topping the field in the 100-yard Freestyle. The sophomore's time of 51.84 was a full-second ahead of Redbirds' Emma Feltzer (51.94) take the individual win. Szadorski was third overall in 52.21, while Heagy finished fourth in 51.73.
 
Agapios picked up her first individual win in the 200-yard Backstroke this season as the freshman topped the field in 2:04.93. DiRuzza finished third overall in 2:06.72, while Rutan was fourth in 2:07.39.
 
Dorotea Bukvic picked up her first win of the day in the 200-yard Breaststroke as the sophomore blew the field away by 5.33 with her time of 2:19.33. Matsumoto was second behind her teammate after touching in 24.60, while Gilkerson placed fifth in 2:27.58.
 
Halsall continued ISU's winning ways in the 500-yard Freestyle as the freshman took the win in 5:10.06. Rhiannon Wozny finished third overall in 5:13.32, while Andrea Putrimas was fourth in 5:17.48.
 
Gray and Boles finished 1-2 in the 100-yard Butterfly with Gray's pool record leading the way. Gray touched in 56.36 to pace the Sycamores, while Boles finished in 57.94. Moreau was also among the Sycamore scorers in the event after finishing in 58.57.
 
Smith was ISU's top diver in the 1M event as the junior posted a 274.05 to finish second in the event. Betzer was fifth in the field with 242.78, while Orta Castaneda finished sixth with 216.00.
Bukvic recorded her second win of the day in the 200 IM as the sophomore held off teammate Cotter by .03 to take the event. Bukvic's time of 2:08.06 put the Sycamores on top, while Cotter (2:08.09) and Dougherty (2:12.18, 3rd) rounded out ISU's top three in the field.
 
The Sycamores closed out the day with another pool record in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay thanks to Farro, Heagy, Matsumoto, and Szadorski (3:29.00). ISU added a third-place result thanks to Moreau, Carmina Armstrong, Gray, and Agapios (3:36.85) and a fifth-place finish behind a strong swim from Gruce, Rachel Sanqunetti, Putrimas, and Wozny (3:42.04).
 
Top ISU Performers in Each Event
200-yard Medley Relay: Carmen Alard Vegas, Kaimi Matsumoto, Marni Gray, Alexa Szadorski (1:45.42, 1st)
1000-yard Freestyle: Esther Rydbeck Norden (10:31.56, 1st)
200-yard Freestyle: Peyton Heagy (1:53.55, 1st)
100-yard Backstroke: Madie Rutan (57.89, 1st)
100-yard Breaststroke: Kaimi Matsumoto (1:05.76, 2nd)
200-yard Butterfly: Marni Gray (2:07.41, 2nd)
50-yard Freestyle: Chloe Farro (24.30, 2nd)
3M Diving: Zoe Smith (309.15, 1st - ISU School Record)
100-yard Freestyle: Chloe Farro (51.84, 1st)
200-yard Backstroke: Kalli Agapios (2:04.93, 1st)
200-yard Breaststroke: Dorotea Bukvic (2:19.33, 1st)
500-yard Freestyle: Haley Halsall (5:10.06, 1st)
100-yard Butterfly: Marni Gray (56.36, 1st -Pool Record)
1M Diving: Zoe Smith (274.05, 2nd)
200-yard IM: Dorotea Bukvic (2:08.06, 1st)
400-yard Freestyle Relay: Chloe Farro, Peyton Heagy, Kaimi Matsumoto, Alexa Szadorski (3:29.00, 1st - Pool Record)
 
Up Next
Indiana State closes out the 2022-23 regular season on January 27-28 as the Sycamores travel to South Bend, Ind., to compete at the Tim Welsh Invite hosted by Notre Dame.
 
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