OXFORD, Ohio – Claire Parsons became the second Sycamore in program history to earn an NCAA B Cut time highlighting three event wins and four Indiana State school records that went down on the final day of the Miami Invitational.
 
Parsons took the win in the 1650-yard Freestyle, setting new school marks in both the 1000-yard (9:57.49) and the 1650 (16:31.28) in the process. Her time made her just the second Sycamore to earn an NCAA B Cut and first since Blance Saez-Illobre achieved the feat in the 400-yard IM at the 2018 MVC Championships. Parsons won the event by over 16 seconds in a dominant performance in the field.
 
Gemma Dilks took down the 200-yard Fly mark in the morning's session breaking one of the oldest records in program history with her time of 2:00.21 topping the previous mark set by Jacquie Price (2:00.63) at the 2018 MVC Championships.
 
The 400-yard Freestyle Relay group of Chloe Farro, Sahara Visscher, Erin Cummins, and Kaleigh Kelley set Indiana State's 14th and final school record set over the weekend as their time of 3:20.44 broke the previous mark set last year at the MVC Championships.
 
Ali Pearson (200 Breast), Parsons (1650 Free), and the Sycamores' 400-yard Freestyle Relay paced the way and highlighted five event wins over the course of the weekend. Cummins (500 Free) and Alexandria Cotter (400 IM) claimed wins on Thursday and Friday respectively.
 
Overall, the Sycamores finished the Invitational second overall in the team standings with 981.5 points. Host Miami took the event win with 1,171, while Dartmouth (651) and Ball State (632.5) rounded out the top four.
 
"I'm very proud of how we competed and represented our program this weekend," head coach Josh Christensen said. "This was one of the best overall meets in program history and it's a great reflection of not only the work we've done so far this season, but the trajectory of our program as a whole. We still have lots to accomplish and we're going to use this momentum as we get back to work."
 
Saturday Evening Results
Claire Parsons started the night in the 200-yard Backstroke A-Finals as the sophomore finished eighth overall in the field with a time of 2:04.41. Ella Moustgaard (2:04.08), Olivia Diruzza (2:04.60), and Kalli Agapios (2:07.65) all took on the field in the B-Final, while Kate Reeves (2:04.99) and Trista Bullock (2:05.59) took the top two positions in the C-Final.
 
Chloe Farro paced the Sycamores finishing fourth overall in the 100-yard Freestyle with a time of 50.18, while Erin Cummins finished seventh in 51.25 to lead Indiana State in the A-Finals. Sahara Visscher (50.97) was third in the B-Finals with Alexa Szadorski (51.64) finishing fifth in the group. Peyton Heagy won the C-Final with a time of 51.90, while Allie Barasch took seventh in the grouping in 53.49.
 
Ali Pearson took the individual title in the 200-yard Breaststroke leading four Sycamores that finished in the top four positions in the A-Final. Pearson's time of 2:15.41 led the way ahead of Dorotea Bukvic (2:15.52), Kaleigh Kelley (2:17.23), and Alexandria Cotter (2:17.92).
 
Gemma Dilks was the first Sycamore to the wall in the 200-yard Fly A-Finals as the freshman touched in 2:02.01 to place fourth overall in the field. Sophia Diaz (2:02.45) was fifth, Haley Halsall (2:03.73) sixth, and Raine Boles (2:05.92) eighth to wrap up the A-Final grouping. Raz Harel finished third overall in the B-Finals group in 2:06.42.
 
Claire Parsons posted new school records in the 1000-yard Freestyle with her split of 9:57.49, while her time of 16:31.28 won the event by 16 seconds and was inside the NCAA B Cut time to highlight her win. Erin Cummins was third overall in 16:56.25, while Maria Saldana Riebeling was fourth in 16:57.98. Dilks rounded out the Top Eight with a time of 17:09.05. Rose Parsons (17:14.58) and Halsall (17:26.19) finished 10th and 12th respectively in the field.
 
The Sycamores closed out the weekend with their third win of the day and fourth school record on Saturday as the team of Farro, Sahara Visscher, Cummins, and Kelley finished in 3:20.44. The B-Team of of Riebeling, Heagy, Pearson, and Szadorski was sixth in 3:26.71, while the C-Team of Claire Parsons, Barasch, Bullock, and Agapios finished eighth in 3:29.81.
 
Saturday Night Finals – Top Indiana State Finishers in Each Event
200-yard Back: 8th – Claire Parsons (2:04.41)
100-yard Free: 4th – Chloe Farro (50.18)
200-yard Breast: 1st – Ali Pearson (2:15.41)
200-yard Fly: 4th – Gemma Dilks (2:02.01)
1650-yard Free: 1st – Claire Parsons (16:31.28, School Record)
400-yard Free Relay: 1st – Chloe Farro, Sahara Visscher, Erin Cummins, Kaleigh Kelley (3:20.44, School Record)
 
Saturday Morning Results
The Sycamores started off the day's activities with the 200-yard Backstroke with Claire Parsons pacing the way and finishing seventh overall to advance to the evening's A-Finals. Parsons posted a season-best 2:01.64 to lead Indiana State, while Olivia Diruzza (2:04.56) and Ella Moustgaard (2:04.69) finished 14th and 15th to advance to the B-Finals. Kalli Agapios (2:07.15), Kate Reeves (2:08.17), and Trista Bullock (2:08.23) all finished into the Top 20.
 
Chloe Farro and Erin Cummins both finished inside the A-Finals group with season-best times in the 100-yard Freestyle to lead the Sycamores in the event. Farro was third overall in 50.13, while Cummins was seventh in the field in 51.14. Alexa Szadorski (51.96) and Sahara Visscher (51.97) both advanced to the B-Finals, while Peyton Heagy (52.29) and Allie Barasch (53.57) were inside the Top 24 to head to the evening's C-Finals. Ash Saple wrapped up the field finishing 30th in 54.58.
 
Dorotea Bukvic took top spot in the 200-yard Breaststroke to head into the evening's A-Final leading four Sycamores inside the Top Five in the event. Bukvic was first overall in 2:17.62 to take the prelim event win, while Ali Pearson (2:18.41), Kaleigh Kelley (2:18.63), and Alexandria Cotter (2:18.88) finished third, fourth, and fifth in the field.
 
Gemma Dilks set a new school record in the 200-yard Fly as the freshman broke one of the oldest Indiana State marks in leading the field with a 2:00.21. Her time topped the previous mark set by Jacquie Price (2:00.63) at the 2018 MVC Championships to lead the field by .74.
 
Sophia Diaz (2:02.02) and Haley Halsall (2:02.91) both set season-best marks to finish fourth and fifth in the field, while Raine Boles (2:05.82) also advanced to the A-Finals. Raz Harel was ninth in the field shaving 4.53 seconds off her previous best this season after touching the wall in 2:06.15.
 
Saturday Morning Prelims – Top Indiana State Finishers in Each Event
200-yard Back: 7th – Claire Parsons (2:01.64)
100-yard Free: 3rd – Chloe Farro (50.13)
200-yard Breast: 1st – Dorotea Bukvic (2:17.62)
200-yard Fly: 1st – Gemma Dilks (2:00.21, School Record)
 
Up Next
Indiana State wraps up the 2024 calendar year on the road on December 19 as the Sycamores head down to Fort Myers, Fla. for a quad meet against Florida Gulf Coast, UNC Asheville, and Tulane. Events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
 
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