The Illinois State swimming and diving team concluded its two day competition at the Bill Ritter Invitational. The day was highlighted by solid swims and high finishes for the Birds, as they took home a third-place finish.
On the swimming side the Redbirds claimed first-place in the 200 medley relay of Stefanie Starck, Brittany Armstrong, Julie Cocks and Kyle Pullman in a time of 1.51.76, while Katie Finan contributed with a first-place finish in the 400 individual medley (4.41.91). Cocks claimed first-place in the 200 butterfly (2.11.11) as well as second in the 100 butterfly (1.00.74) and 200 backstroke (2.10.65).
Witkowski claimed a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle (1.59.24), while Pullman recorded second in the 100 freestyle (54.41). Head coach
Steve Paska was pleased with the determination his team showed, as most of the swimmers competed in seven or eight events during the two-day invitational.
We had a very good weekend of competition, said Paska. It was a long weekend for us, with a lot of swims, but we got a lot out of it and kept our momentum going. Now we have one more meet to gear up for the Valley championship.
On the diving side, coach Carly Weiden said she saw some good things as Krystal Featherston took first-place in the 3-meter event with a score of 415.10, and second-place in the 1-meter, scoring 228.60. Terra Whisman earned fifth in the 1-meter (213.65) and ninth in the 3-meter (354.65), while Alison Kouba was fifth in the 3-meter (382.10) just ahead of Emily LaVoie in sixth (366.95).
As a team the Birds finished in third-place overall, scoring 885 points, to place behind Wisconsin-Green Bay in second (972) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee in first (974).
The swimming and diving team returns to the water for a senior night home meet on January 31, in dual competition with Wisconsin-Green Bay. Action is slated to get underway at 11 a.m. at Horton Pool.
