Freshman diver Krystal Featherston qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Meet taking second-place in the three-meter competition while Angie Rawlins broke the school record in the 200 breaststroke to lead the Illinois State swimming and diving team in the final day at the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
Host team Southern Illinois claimed the team title scoring 833 points. Evansville finished second with 705.5 followed by Southwest Missouri State with 622 and Illinois State with 540.
Featherston tallied 429.55 points for second-place in three-meter diving, becoming the second Redbird freshman diver to qualify for the NCAA meet. Terra Whisman, who qualified earlier in the season on the one-meter board, finished fourth with 415.20.
The divers definitely succeeded in every way shape and form, diving coach Laura Segerlin said. They have made their mark in the Valley and have proven that as freshmen the can perform under pressure.
Breaking the Illinois State record in the 200 breaststroke, Rawlins clocked 2:23.04 for a third-place finish. Rawlins time breaks the record of 2:24.25 set by Jane Schramm in 1983, making all of the Redbird records set under the tenure of head coach
Steve Paska.
Heather Norris broke her personal best time by nearly 20 seconds with her 17:26.22 race for third-place in the 1,650 free. Senior Amalia Constantinescu also set a personal best with a 17:54.07 for seventh-place.
Lindsay Crowder came just shy of a personal best clocking 52.79 in the 100 free for third-place. In that same race, Nicole DuCharme finished eighth, followed by Brittany Erickson in 10th and Dana Rosinski in 13th with a personal best time.
Norris also had a strong race in the 200 butterfly, placing seventh with a time of 2:14.11. Senior Diana Cirstea finished eighth in the 200 fly followed by Sara Hayworth in 10th.
In the final event of the meet, the 400 freestyle relay team of Crowder, DuCharme, Rawlins and Erickson swam a season best 3:33.50 for fourth-place.
Overall we didnt perform according to plan, but we had some dynamite swims, Paska said. My only disappointment was that everybody wasnt clicking. We strive for perfection and unfortunately it didnt happen for everyone. This team accomplished a lot this season and going out with season and this weekend was a fitting way to end the season.
