By Tori KohlMissouri State leads after Thursday’s opening session of the 2014 Mid-American Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships here at the University at Buffalo. The Bears tallied 245 points, followed by Eastern Michigan with 197 points and Buffalo with 192 points.
The first night of finals began with Missouri State swimming the 200 yard Freestyle Relay. The team of Paul Le Jr., Jack Snow, Uvis Kalnins and Caleb Schuermann finished with a pool record time of 1:19.84. Following the Bears was Miami (1:20.22) in second and Buffalo (1:20.22) in third.
Southern Illinois' Till Pallmann claimed the 500 Free title in a MAC record time of 4:20.47. Missouri State's Miguel Davila finished in second (4:22.72), while Buffalo's Dan O'Connor came in third with a time of 4:24.57.
In the 200 Individual Medley, Missouri State's Uvis Kalnins broke the MAC record with a time of 1:44.69, followed by teammate Paul Le (1:45.41) in second and EMU's Andrew Henry with 1:47.38
Buffalo's Mike Dugan took first place in the 50 freestyle with a pool record time of 19.84. SIU’s Dusan Vukobrat took home second place with a time of 20.34, while Miami’s Jo Baumgartner placed third (20.44).
Missouri State's Garrett Nevels claimed the 1-meter diving championship with a score of 363.45. Buffalo's Cade Bennett finished second with 354.45 points, while SIU's Kegan Skelton took home third place with 338.15 points.
The night concluded with Missouri State breaking the 400 Medley Relay MAC record and winning their second relay of the night. The team of Paul Le, Isaac Springer, Vitalii Baryshok, Uvis Kalnins finished the race in a time of 3:10.95. Following the was EMU (3:13.48), while Buffalo finished third (3:15.54).
Action continues on Friday at the University at Buffalo with preliminaries set for 11 a.m. and the finals set for 7 p.m.
MAC Men's Swimming & Diving Team Results (Following Day 1)
1. Missouri State 245
2. Eastern Michigan 197
3. Buffalo 192
4. Miami 164
5. Southern Illinois 134
6. Ball State 66
7. Evansville 50
