Missouri State takes back the lead after day three of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Championships here at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The Bears tallied 511.50 points, followed by Eastern Michigan with 487.50 points and Southern Illinois with 350 points.
Missouri State's Uvis Kalnins brought home the 400 individual medley title for the second year in a row with MAC Championships and pool record time of 3:46.00. Southern Illinois' Joao Facciotti grabbed the 100 butterfly title with a time of 47.35.
Southern Illinois Till Pallmann reclaimed the 200 freestyle title with a MAC Championship record time of 1:35.15. Eastern Michigan's Andrew Henry took home second place (1:35.24), while Henry's teammate finished third in 1:35.72.
In other action, Missouri State's Isaac Springer won the 100 breaststroke in a MAC Championship record time of 53.85. The final individual race of the night was claimed by Missouri State's Paul Le, who won his second straight 100 backstroke with a pool record time of time of 46.80.
The night concluded with Missouri State winning the 400 Medley Relay. The team of Paul Le, Isaac Springer, Vitalii Baryshok and Uvis Kalnins finished the race in a MAC Championship and pool record time of 3:10.56. Following the Bears was Eastern Michigan (3:14.02), while Southern Illinois finished third (3:14.93).
The #MACtion continues Saturday with a preliminary session set for 11 a.m. ET to be followed by finals at 7 p.m.
Team Standings Through Day Three
1. Missouri State 511.50
2. Eastern Michigan 487.50
3. Southern Illinois 350
4. Buffalo 339
5. Miami 328
6. Evansville 110
7. Ball State 77
Missouri State
Missouri State had three swimmers win conference titles and its 400 medley relay broke school, pool and Mid-American Conference records to propel the Bears into a slight lead over Eastern Michigan following the third day of the 2015 MAC Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, March 6, at the SPIRE Institute.
The Bears’ 511.50 points give them a 24-point lead over the Eagles, after falling behind to EMU following the second day of action. Southern Illinois sits in third with 350 points, followed by Buffalo (339), Miami (328), Evansville (110) and Ball State (77).
“I loved our team’s effort and energy tonight,” Bears head coach Dave Collins said. “They are all giving everything they got and that’s all I can ask. I am proud of them and look forward to what we can do tomorrow.”
MSU got off to a remarkable start in the opening 400 IM, with five Bears earning spots in the A-final.
Uvis Kalnins defended his conference title in the event by finishing with a school-, pool- and MAC-record time of 3:46.00.
Miguel Davila (3:52.09) and Ethan Bresette (3:55.81) used personal-best times in the 400 IM A-final to claim silver and bronze medals, respectively. Christopher Heye and Brandon Weissman also made podium appearances, with both achieving career marks on Friday for sixth and seventh. Canaan Campbell also set a lifetime best in the B-final (4:00.41).
The Bears’ next champion came in the 100 breast, with Isaac Springer breaking the conference record by touching the wall at 53.85. Springer earned consecutive personal-bests in the prelims and A-final to achieve a ‘B’ cut, while also defeating the previous back-to-back 100 breast MAC champion – EMU’s Mike Fisher – who claimed third Friday.
The remaining two Bears who raced in the 100 breast – Uldis Tazans and Aaron Dennis – also qualified for the A-final. Both finished with ‘B’ standards as Tazans narrowly missed out on medaling by placing fourth with the top time of his career (54.49), and Dennis earned seventh after his top time of the season in the prelims (54.99).
Paul Le narrowly missed his school record in the 100 back by 0.07 seconds, but still set a pool-record 46.80 to win his second-consecutive title in the event.
Matthew Wilson swam his personal-best time in the prelims (49.45) and eventually placed seventh in the 100 back A-final, the second race for him on the day. Both Preston Selby (49.96) and Jack Snow (50.08) advanced to the B-final for the Bears, with each getting their top times this season in third- and sixth-place finishes, respectively.
The Bears’ final record-breaking performance came in the 400 medley relay.
Le, Springer, Vitalii Baryshok and Kalnins teamed up to top the school, pool and conference record and finish in a time of 3:10.56. Their relay broke their previous school and MAC marks set at last season’s championships by 0.39 seconds.
Baryshok, an MSU senior, led the way with a runner-up finish in the A-final (47.86). In a tight race for medal position, Baryshok fell to SIU’s Joao Facciotti by 0.51 seconds, but touched in just ahead of bronze-medalist Oliver Patrouch of Buffalo by 0.06 seconds and fourth-place finisher Saluki Lucas Aquino by 0.12 seconds. MSU’s Wilson earned seventh in the A-final after his top time of 2014-15 in the prelims (48.92), while Selby took top honors in the B-final (49.12)
Kacper Cwiek and Isaac McKnight both made it on to the podium for the Bears in the 200 free. Cwiek placed fifth in a ‘B’ standard 1:37.24 in the A-final, with McKnight finishing eighth after a personal-best 1:37.50 in the prelims. MSU’s Will Brand qualified for the B-final after the top time of his career in the prelims (1:39.53) and eventually placed third in the consolation final.
MSU senior diver Garrett Nevels qualified with 331.65 points in 3-meter prelims for Saturday evening’s 1-8 finals. He will be the lone bear, with the Eagles qualifying four divers into the 3-meter finals event.
“This has been a long meet, but I am proud of the freshmen and sophomores who stepped up today,” junior Isaac Springer said. “We still have a lot of work left to do, so it’s time to rest and reset and get ready for tomorrow.”
In all, MSU won four of the six events completed on the third day of the 2015 MAC Championships. Twelve ‘B’ cuts were achieved by the Bears, while three conference-meet, three-pool and two-school records were topped by MSU.
“We will need to be perfect tomorrow both in the prelims and the finals if we want to have a chance,” Collins said. “We will be leaning hard on our senior class to carry us.”
Miami (OH)
The Miami University men’s swimming and diving team dropped to fifth place with their cumulative score of 328 points at the conclusion of day three of the MAC Championships.
Day three saw two NCAA B Cut times turned in by the RedHawks. Sophomore Lucas Brock’s qualifying time of 1:37.98 in the 200-yard freestyle earned him sixth place. Brock’s time tied with the school record currently held by Ross Halloran.
Junior Evan Bader turned in the other NCAA B qualifying time in the 100-yard breaststroke. Bader swam to a tenth-place finish, clocking a time of 55.09
The podium was colored red in the 100-yard backstroke after three RedHawks turned in top finishes. Junior Davis Staley led Miami in the event with a fourth-place finish, coming in at 49.23, beating out fifth place by four-tenths of a second. Sixth place belonged to junior Jacob Prodoehl after he turned in a time of 49.86 with junior Sean Neri close behind in seventh.
Sophomore Grant Stafford represented Miami in the championship heat of the 100-yard butterfly. Stafford received eighth place after he touched the wall at 49.34.
The evening wrapped up with a thrilling back and forth between Buffalo and Miami in the 400-yard medley relay. Despite a strong showing from Staley, Bader, Stafford and senior Joe Baumgartner, the relay finished fifth with a time of 3:16.07, missing fourth place by seven-tenths of a second.
Earlier, the preliminaries for the three-meter diving competition took place. Juniors Michael Nash and Cole Fryman, and sophomore Sean Sargent each qualified for the three-meter finals that will take place on Saturday evening.
