TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Claire Parsons highlighted a record-setting night for Indiana State swimming & diving by setting the program's first Missouri Valley Conference record as the Sycamores topped both Ball State (216-84) and Butler (251-42) on Friday night inside the Vigo County Aquatic Center.
 
Parsons went 4:52.65 over the first 500 yards and closed out the race in 4:53.71 over the final 500 yards on her way to winning the event by 21 full seconds after touching the wall in 9:46.34. The Terre Haute, Ind. native's mark broke her previous career-best (9:57.49) by over 11 seconds and shattered the Missouri Valley record by over four seconds to break a mark that had been standing since 2010. The previous mark of 9:50.55 was set by SIU's Kirsten Groome.
 
Overall, Indiana State set seven new program records in the meet including the 200-yard Medley Relay, 1000-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Breast, 200-yard Fly, 3M Diving, and 1M Diving marks. The Sycamores won 14 of the 16 events on Friday evening.
 
"Tonight was about honoring our seniors and continuing to build momentum toward the MVC Championship meet," head coach Josh Christensen said. "It was a special evening and the team rode the energy from the environment to some excellent performances. We feel very confident in our preparation and the work we've put in this season. We're going to get back to work tomorrow and stay on the path the next couple of weeks as we make our final preparations for conference."
 
Prior to the meet, the Sycamores honored the 2024-25 Senior Class as Dorotea Bukvic, Trista Bullock, Alexandria Cotter, Olivia Diruzza, Chloe Farro, Daniela Orta Castaneda, Rose Parsons, Ali Pearson, and Alexa Szadorski were recognized. Indiana State also recognized Assistant Coach Myanna Cook, Athletic Trainer Hallie McCarn, and Strength & Conditioning's Lydia Fenoglio for their efforts in assisting the program during their time at Indiana State.
 
When events started, the Sycamores took control of the meet early with their first school record in the 200-yard Medley Relay. The quartet of Sahara Visscher, Pearson, Raine Boles, and Kaleigh Kelley went 1:39.88 to take the event win. The second team of Cotter, Szadorski, Sophia Diaz, and Chloe Farro finished third in 1:42.19, while the final team of Bullock, Bukvic, Raz Harel, and Kalli Agapios finished fourth in 1:45.69.
 
Claire Parsons followed up by taking control of the 1000-yard Freestyle after the first 50 yards as the sophomore sped away from the field early. The sophomore swimmer won the event by 21 seconds on her way to posting a 9:46.34 to win the event ahead of teammate Maria Saldana Riebeling (10:07.60). Rose Parsons finished fifth overall in the field in 10:24.53.
 
Erin Cummins (1:49.00) and Peyton Heagy (1:52.96) finished second and third overall in the 200-yard Freestyle event to lead the Sycamores in the field.
 
Visscher put the Sycamores back on top in the 100-yard Backstroke as the freshman posted just the third sub-55.00 time in program history to win the event in 54.95. Ella Moustgaard finished sixth in 57.60, while Kate Reeves (57.67), Diruzza (58.04) and Bullock (58.16) added Top 10 performances.
 
Pearson put Indiana State's third school record in the books in the 100-yard Breaststroke as the senior topped her own mark in the event after going in 1:01.91. Szadorski was second in 1:03.18, while Bukvic finished fourth in 1:05.14.
 
Haley Halsall put her own stamp in the record book as the junior set a new mark in the 200-yard Fly with a time of 2:00.20 to win the event. Previous record-holder Gemma Dilks finished second in 2:00.57, while Diaz (2:02.41) and Harel (2:04.86) both finished inside the top five.
 
Farro put together her first win of the day in the 50-yard Freestyle as the senior went 23.10 to win the event ahead of Agapios (23.63) and Boles (23.68). Ash Saple was sixth in the field after touching the wall in 24.18.
 
Kelley and Cotter took each other on in a 100-yard IM exhibition with Kelley setting a new school mark with a time of 55.86 to place just ahead of her teammate (56.83).
 
Jecza Lopez continued to showcase her power on the springboard events as the sophomore set a new school mark in the 3M event on Friday night. Lopez's six-dive score of 315.37 broke the previous mark of 309.15 set by Zoe Smith (2023). Orta Castaneda finished second in 245.25, while Lucia McDougall set a new personal-best after totaling 231.52. Ella Taylor also put together a career effort after scoring 221.45, while Brenna Woodruff (211.87) and Angelina Damiano (174.52) also set new P.R.'s in the meet.
 
The Sycamores were back on top following the first swimming break as Farro topped the field in the 100-yard Freestyle after touching the wall in 50.25. Szadorski was third in 50.56, while Riebeling placed fifth in 52.33. Allie Barasch (53.55) and Saple (53.59) added top 10 results.
 
Visscher was the only swimmer to go sub-2:00 in the 20-yard Backstroke as the freshman topped the field in 1:59.38. Agapios was third in 2:01.65, while Diruzza (2:02.95) placed fifth. Moustgaard (2:04.30) and Reeves (2:05.94) finished sixth and seventh overall.
 
Bukvic took the win in the 200-yard Breaststroke as the senior took the event win in 2:14.53 to top teammate Cotter (2:18.68) by over four seconds. Pearson was third overall in 2:19.61.
 
The Sycamores took the top four spots in the 500-yard Freestyle led by Claire Parsons' second win of the evening. The Indiana State sophomore went 4:53.22 to lead the field, while Dilks (4:57.40), Cummins (4:58.30), and Bullock (4:59.56) all went under 5:00 minutes overall. Halsall was sixth in 5:00.02, while Heagy (5:04.26) and Rose Parsons (5:14.15) added top 10 results.
 
Kelley was second in the field in the 100-yard Fly as the sophomore touched the wall in 54.81 to lead the Sycamores. Boles was third in 55.53, while Diaz (56.50) and Harel (56.83) finished fifth and seventh overall. Barasch rounded out the group ninth in the field in 57.65.
 
Lopez set her second Indiana State mark of the evening in the 1M Springboard event after posting a score of 293.93 to win the event. Orta Castaneda was second with 235.87, while McDougall placed third in 235.27. Taylor (209.62), Woodruff (205.87), and Damiano (174.75) added top results in the event.
Cotter led four Sycamores inside the top five in the event in the 200-yard IM as the senior touched the wall in 2:03.45. Dilks was second in 2:04.74, while Bukvic was fourth in 2:05.39 and Riebeling placed fifth in 2:06.75. Pearson (2:08.45) and Diruzza (2:11.37) were both inside the top 12 in the field.
 
Indiana State closed out the meet with the quartet of Kelley, Farro, Boles, and Szadorski taking the win in 1:32.11. Visscher, Agapios, Cummins, and Heagy were third in 1:34.27, while Barasch, Claire Parsons, Harel, and Saple placed fourth in 1:37.21. The final group of Diaz, Reeves, Halsall, and Rose Parsons finished seventh in 1:41.67.
 
Top Indiana State Finishers in Each Event
200-Yard Medley Relay: 1st – Sahara Visscher, Alexa Szadorski, Raine Boles, Kaleigh Kelley (1:39.88, School Record)
1000-Yard Free: 1st – Claire Parsons (9:46.34, MVC Record, School Record)
200-Yard Free: 2nd – Erin Cummins (1:49.00)
100-Yard Back: 1st – Sahara Visscher (54.95)
100-Yard Breast: 1st – Ali Pearson (1:01.91, School Record)
200-Yard Fly: 1st – Haley Halsall (2:00.21, School Record)
50-Yard Free: 1st – Chloe Farro (23.10)
3M Diving: 1st – Jecza Lopez (315.37, School Record)
100-Yard Free: 1st – Chloe Farro (50.25)
200-Yard Back: 1st – Sahara Visscher (1:59.38)
200-Yard Breast: 1st – Dorotea Bukvic (2:14.53)
500-Yard Free: 1st – Claire Parsons (4:53.22)
100-Yard Fly: 2nd – Kaleigh Kelley (54.81)
1M Diving: 1st – Jecza Lopez (293.93, School Record)
200-Yard IM: 1st – Alexandria Cotter (2:03.45)
200-Yard Free Relay: 1st – Kaleigh Kelley, Chloe Farro, Raine Boles, Alexa Szadorski (1:32.11)
 
Up Next
Indiana State heads to the Missouri Valley Conference Championships over February 26 – March 1 at Waukee, Iowa, and the Waukee CSD Natatorium.
 
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