Twelve Bears made individual appearances on the podium as the Missouri State men’s swimming and diving team recorded a total of six medals to maintain the lead on day three of the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Missouri State leads the conference with 503 points while the University of Buffalo sits second with 427.5. Returning champion Eastern Michigan holds down third place (416), followed by Miami (Ohio) (379.5), host Southern Illinois (305), Evansville (111) and Ball State (109).
In true, championship fashion, newcomer Phillip Willett kicked off the finals session with a first-place, record-breaking performance in the 400 IM. The sophomore shaved 2.79 seconds off his newly-set personal record, bringing in big points for the Bears.
“I wanted to get out there and hold my own,” Willett said. “We had a game plan to just go out there and do your part and I think I and my teammates did that. My goal was to get out and challenge anyone to come up and catch me, so seeing my teammates jumping up and down on the side of the pool let me know that I was doing what I was supposed to do.”
Christopher Heye took the bronze in the 400 IM, setting a new career-best as well after touching the wall in 3:50.61. The third Bear to finish in the top eight, Ethan Bresette rounded out the championship final after recording a time of 3:57.32 in the event.
Continuing the record-breaking trend was Artur Osvath, who earned a silver medal in the 100 fly with a time of 46.94 seconds and shattered the school record that had remained untouched since 2009.
The Bears picked up three podium spots in the 200 free, led by junior Kacper Cwiek who picked up his second silver medal in a time of 1:37.75. Sophomore Michael Mollak pushed through late in the event to earn a fourth-place finish, followed by Will Brand who placed sixth on the podium.
Senior Uldis Tazans and sophomore Nicholas Theunissen made appearances in the 100 breast finals, finishing second and fourth respectively while breaking their own personal records. Stepping up in the 100 back, freshman Conner Ripp swam his way into sixth place, finishing the event in 48.85 seconds – a new personal record for the newcomer.
Showing upper-classman leadership, senior Preston Selby finished placed in the top eight in both the 100 fly (49.49) and 100 back (49.50). The captain set two new personal records earlier in the prelims session, recording a time of 49.38 in the 100 fly and 48.86 in the 100 back.”
“We swam incredibly well tonight,” Selby said. “We knew that we had to come in and get it done this morning and then close it out tonight and that’s exactly what we did. I wanted to step up and set an example for my teammates and finish out my last time swimming those events in a way that would show the other guys what we came here to do. I think that I did that and it showed in everyone else’s swims.”
Closing out the finals, the Missouri State 400 medley relay earned the team’s first silver relay medal of the weekend. Finishing just .62 seconds behind first-place Buffalo, Ripp, Tazans, Osvath and Senn combined for a season-best time of 3:13.68 – 1.16 seconds faster than the Redhawks of Miami (Ohio).
With all of the success from the third day of competition at the MAC Championships Selby notes that the Bears need to perform even stronger tomorrow.
“Tomorrow we have to come into the morning session with a killer instinct,” Selby added. “We have to come in and swim the fastest we ever have, have the best session of our lives, and then come back and close it out at night.”
MAC Championship Standings
1. Missouri State – 503
2. Buffalo – 427.5
3. Eastern Michigan – 416
4. Miami (Ohio) – 379.5
5. Southern Illinois - 305
6. Evansville – 111
7. Ball State – 109
