Illinois State seniors Angie Rawlins, Nicole DuCharme and Andrea Neubauer capped off their Redbird careers with a third-place team finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Southern Illinois in Carbondale.
The Redbirds compiled a team point total of 706 points, with Southwest Missouri taking the win with 888 points. Southern came in second with 721 points, with Evansville (465) and Northern Iowa (353) claiming fourth and fifth, respectively.
Julie Cocks highlighted the night with a win in the 200 fly in a time of 2:06.58, with Sara Groves (2:11.73) and Nicole DuCharme (2:11.62) both setting personal best times in the event.
The 400 free relay team, composed of Monique Witkowski, Katie Finan, Andrea Neubauer and DuCharme, was also able to contribute to the team point total by caputuring second-place.
At the awards ceremony following the meet, diver Krystal Featherston was honored by the Valley coaches and was awarded the title of Missouri Valley Conference Diver of the Year. Featherston, along with Terra Whisman, Neubauer, Rawlins, Cocks and Witkowski were recognized for being named as members of the Missouri Valley All-Conference Swimming and Diving Team.
Illinois State head coach
Steve Paska was pleased with how the seniors and the rest of the Redbirds capped off their season.
"The three seniors (Rawlins, Neubauer, DuCharme) all played a significant role throughout the season," said Paska. "It was fun to see them go out in style by setting school and meet records at the Valley meet this weekend."
Diver Krystal Featherston is the lone Redbird who will be continuing her season after qualifying for the NCAA Zone C Meet on both the one and three-meter boards. The zone meet will be held March 14-16.
