EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Indiana State set four new school records including the 50-yard Freestyle mark going down twice on Thursday as the Sycamores battled the field through the second day of the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming & Diving Championships held at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.
The Sycamores set new marks in the 500-yard Freestyle, the 200-yard IM, the 50-yard Freestyle, and the 200-yard Freestyle Relay giving ISU a perfect 6-for-6 mark in new school records set in the swimming events.
Zoe Smith added a fourth-place finish after making the A-Final in the diving event as the Sycamores placed nine in the top eight across the five event finals.
Team standings are still being calculated at the time of this release.
Thursday Evening Recap
The Sycamores set the tone early in the evening opener as six different Indiana State athletes competed in the 500-yard Freestyle finals after advancing through the morning session.
Erin Cummins broke
Claire Parsons' school-record in the event with a time of 4:51.47 to finish second overall in the field, while Parsons finished in 4:53.46 to place third overall.
Esther Rydbeck Norden was eighth overall in the A-Final with a time of 4:59.00. The Sycamores continued to add points in the event with
Haley Halsall touching the wall in 4:55.78 to place 11th overall, while
Trista Bullock (5:01.90) and
Rose Parsons (5:03.23) finished 19th and 21st respectively in the event.
Another school record went down in the 200-yard IM as
Alexandria Cotter's 2:01.86 broke the previous mark set by Blanca Saez-Illobre (2:01.95) set back at the 2018 MVC Championships. Cotter finished third overall in the field with her time, while
Dorotea Bukvic placed seventh in the A-Finals with a time of 2:03.03. Ali Pearson added a 16th-place result after touching the wall in 2:05.13.
The 50-yard Freestyle record went down for the second time on the day as
Kaleigh Kelley went 23.01 to break the mark set by
Alexa Szadorski (23.08) earlier in the day's preliminary rounds. Kelley finished fourth overall in the field, while Szadorski (23.13) placed sixth in the A-Finals.
Chloe Farro nearly took down the record herself with a time of 23:10 to place ninth in the field.
Zoe Smith advanced to the 1M Diving A-Finals on her way to finishing fourth overall in the field with a six-dive score 264.70.
Bailey Betzer took on the field in the 1M Diving B-Finals as the senior went against the field on Thursday afternoon. Betzer's six-dive score of 218.50 put her 15th overall in the field.
The Sycamores closed out the evening with Farro, Kelly,
Kaimi Matsumoto, and Szadorski breaking their previous 200-yard Freestyle Relay mark with a time of 1:31.37 to place second overall in the field. The group of Ash Saple, Allie Barasch,
Kalli Agapios, and
Raz Harel finished in 1:34.95, while the final quartet of
Jordan Gruce,
Ella Moustgaard,
Kate Reeves, and Becca Shaffer finished in 1:37.08.
Thursday Evening Finals
- 500-yard Freestyle: A-Finals – Erin Cummins (4:51.47, 2nd – ISU School Record), Claire Parsons (4:53.46, 3rd), Esther Rydbeck Norden (4:59.00, 8th); B-Finals – Haley Halsall (4:55.78, 11th); C-Finals: Trista Bullock (5:01.90, 19th), Rose Parsons (5:03.23, 21st)
- 200-yard IM: A-Finals – Alexandria Cotter (2:01.86, 3rd – ISU School Record), Dorotea Bukvic (2:03.03, 7th); B-Finals – Ali Pearson (2:05.13, 16th)
- 50-yard Freestyle: A-Finals - Kaleigh Kelley (23.01, 4th – ISU School Record), Alexa Szadorski (23.13, 6th), B-Finals – Chloe Farro (23.10, 9th)
- 1M Diving: A-Finals – Zoe Smith (264.70, 4th); B-Finals – Bailey Betzer (218.50, 15th)
- 200-yard Freestyle Relay – Chloe Farro, Kaleigh Kelley, Kaimi Matsumoto, Alexa Szadorski (1:31.37, 2nd – ISU School Record)
Thursday Morning Preliminary Recap
Six Sycamores advanced to the 500-yard Freestyle finals as Indiana State started the second day of the 2024 MVC Championships.
Erin Cummins (4:53.68),
Claire Parsons (4:53.87), and
Esther Rydbeck Norden (4:56.38) all advanced to the top-eight and will compete in Thursday night's A-Finals.
Haley Halsall (4:57.25) advanced to take on the field in the B-Finals, while
Rose Parsons (5:03.50) and
Trista Bullock (5:04.35) will battle it out in the C-Finals.
Kamila Nowak narrowly missed out on joining her teammates in the field finishing in 5:13.25.
The 200-yard IM will feature a trio of Sycamores as
Alexandria Cotter,
Dorotea Bukvic, and Ali Pearson all advanced to the evening's events. Cotter (2:02.77) and Bukvic (2:03.11) both finished inside the top-eight to advance to the A-Finals, while Pearson will take on the field in the B-Finals following her time of 2:05.12. Olivia DiRuzza (2:09.72) and Becca Shaffer (2:09.95) were also in the mix to close out the event prelims.
The 50-yard Freestyle Thursday night finals will feature another trio of Sycamores as
Alexa Szadorski,
Kaleigh Kelley, and
Chloe Farro all advanced to the evening's events. Szadorski placed second overall in the qualifiers with a time of 23.08, while Kelley will join her teammate in the A-Finals following her time of 23.20. Farro (23.34) will be joining the B-Finals after falling in a swim-off in the morning.
Zoe Smith qualified for the A-Finals in the 1M Diving, while
Bailey Betzer will compete in the B-Finals as the Sycamore diving duo both finished among the top-16 in the field. Smith posted the second overall score at 268.00, while Betzer posted a 233.25 to highlight her first six dives in the event.
Daniela Orta Castaneda (208.90) and
Sierra Bowman (200.20) finished among the scorers at 20th and 21st, while
Brenna Woodruff rounded out the group in 171.05.
Thursday Morning Qualifiers
Up Next
Indiana State continues the 2024 MVC Championships tomorrow morning with the preliminary qualification rounds in the 100-yard Butterfly, 400-yard IM, 200-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Breaststroke, 100-yard Backstroke, and the 3M Diving starting at 11:30 a.m. ET. The event finals of the swimming events, the consolation of the 3M Diving, and the 400-yard Medley Relay finals will start at 7 p.m. ET.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Swimming and Diving, visit
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