SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana State closed out the final day of the Tim Welsh Classic at Notre Dame in a fitting fashion as the Sycamores set a new school record in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay. The relay win highlighted a weekend that rewrote the ISU record book as the Sycamores set two school records and had 10 new entries into the all-time top-20 event lists.
 
The Sycamores highlighted their day by setting a new school record in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay as the team of Chloe Farro, Peyton Heagy, Kaimi Matsumoto, and Alexa Szadorski touched the wall in 3:23.94 to break the previous mark (3:24.55) set last season at the CSCAA National Invitational.
 
Additional highlights included Esther Rydbeck Norden (1000 Freestyle), Chloe Farro (100 Freestyle) and Marni Gray (200 Butterfly) all posting the second-fastest times in school history, while Dorotea Bukvic added another top-five all-time mark in the 200-yard Breaststroke.
 
"I'm very proud of how we represented our program today and for the weekend as a whole," head coach Josh Christensen said. "We knew coming in this was going to be a challenging couple of days, but also a great opportunity to prepare for conference and continue growing as a program. We definitely made the most of the opportunity and in some places even exceeded expectations. Capping the weekend with a relay school record was incredible."
 
He continued, "We're excited to rest, fine-tune, and go compete at the Missouri Valley Championships next month."
 
Rydbeck Norden started off the Sycamores' meet with a continuation of the first as the junior set a new P.R. in the 1000-yard Freestyle. Her time of 10:10.54 took nearly three seconds off her previous best and was the second-best time in Indiana State history in finishing ninth in the field.
 
Rhiannon Wozny nearly matched her own P.R. in the event in finishing 13th overall in 10:22.89, while Haley Halsall (10:24.51, 15th), and Molly Fogarty (10:27.67, 16th) also posted top-20 times in school history in the event.
 
Madie Rutan continued to lead the Indiana State in the backstroke events as the junior paced ISU in the 200-yard event. Her time of 2:00.44 put her 12th overall in the field, while Olivia DiRuzza posted a 2:00.60 to finish 13th. Carmen Alard Vegas (2:03.55, 17th), Alexandria Cotter (2:03.93, 18th), and Kalli Agapios (2:07.85, 20th) added top-20 finishes on the day, while Tori Johns (2:09.87, 21st) and Rachel Sanqunetti (2:10.39, 22nd) narrowly missed on joining their teammates among the leaders.
 
Farro nearly set a new school mark in the 100-yard Freestyle as the sophomore was .03 seconds off her ISU record in the event. Farro's time of 50.88 put her 12th in the field and was the second-fastest in school history coming up just shy of her 50.85 mark set last season at the Kansas Classic.
 
Szadorski (51.80, 20th), Heagy (51.86, 21st), Sarah Moreau (52.15, 23rd), Jordan Gruce (52.67, 25th), Carmina Armstrong (52.79, 26th), and Marissa Kozel (53.85, 32nd) also took on the deep event field.
 
Bukvic continues to make the 200-yard Breaststroke event her own as the sophomore posted the fifth-fastest time in school history in the event after touching the wall in 2:15.86. She currently owns five of the top seven times in school history in the event after placing sixth overall in the Tim Welsh Classic field.
 
Matsumoto touched the wall 15th overall in 2:21.63, while Elle Gilkerson (2:22.88, 17th), and Makayla Sura (2:25.29, 18th) were also among the event leaders on the day.
 
Gray set a new career mark for the second consecutive day as the senior went 2:01.43 in the 200-yard Butterfly to finish 13th in the field. Her time was the second-fastest in Indiana State history and surpassed her previous best time of 2:01.89 set at the 2021 Missouri Valley Championships.
 
Halsall was second among the ISU athletes after touching in 2:05.86 (20th), while Colleen O'Connor (2:06.90, 22nd), Raine Boles (2:07.93, 25th), Alexandria Cotter (2:08.15, 26th), and Rebecca Shaffer (2:11.67, 28th) all competed on Saturday.
 
The Sycamores wrapped up the swimming portion of the Tim Welsh Classic by setting another school record in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay as the team of Farro, Heagy, Matsumoto, and Szadorski touched the wall in 3:23.94 to place sixth in the field. Matsumoto posted the fastest split among the Sycamores coming in at 50.64 as ISU set the second-fastest time in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
 
The team of Moreau, Agapios, Armstrong, and Gray finished 10th in 3:30.04, while Bukvic-Gruce-Putrimas-Kozel finished 13th in 3:33.34. ISU's final team consisting of Boles, Wozny, Sanqunetti, and Rydbeck Norden was 15th in 3:35.19.

Zoe Smith led the Sycamore divers in both the 1M and 3M diving events on Saturday. The junior finished 11th overall in the 1M diving event after her 243.60, while adding a 13th-place result in the 3M dive (223.20). Bailey Betzer finished 14th in the field in each contest posting scores of 220.15 and 222.75, while Daniela Orta Castaneda finished 15th with results of 178.40 and 220.30.
 
Saturday Results
1000-yard Freestyle: Ninth Place - Esther Rydbeck Norden (10:10.54)
200-yard Backstroke: 12th Place – Madie Rutan (2:00.44)
100-yard Freestyle: 12th Place – Chloe Farro (50.88)
200-yard Breaststroke: Sixth Place – Dorotea Bukvic (2:15.86)
200-yard Butterfly: 13th Place – Marni Gray (2:01.43)
400-yard Freestyle Relay: Sixth Place – Chloe Farro, Peyton Heagy, Kaimi Matsumoto, Alexa Szadorski (3:23.94)
1M Diving: 11th Place - Zoe Smith (243.60)
3M Diving: 13th Place - Zoe Smith (223.20)
 
Up Next
The Sycamores head next to the 2023 Missouri Valley Championships hosted in Iowa City, Iowa on February 15-18.
 
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