BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For the third-straight season, the Illinois State swimming and diving team powered past Illinois Wesleyan (231.00 – 66.00) and Lewis (216.00 – 77.00) in double-dual action at Fort Natatorium on Friday evening. The Redbirds broke six pool records, including a pair of relay records in lieu of their victories.
"We are very happy with the performances tonight," shared head swimming coach Scott Cameron. "We were able to put people in events that they don't normally swim, and they did great. For where we are in a tough cycle of training, I thought the team did very well, and they continue to swim better races each meet."
The 200-yard medley relay team of Julie Kolar, Jensen Keck, Kierston Farley-Sepe and Molly Hill clocked in a winning, pool-record time of 1:48.77 – nearly three seconds ahead of the second-place team. The reigning Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week, Farley-Sepe, returned to the pool with teammates Morgan Clark, Jessica Nichols and Alyssa Reinholz to compete in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the quartet turned in a pool-record performance of 1:38.76.
Individually, Keck etched her name onto the record board at Fort Natatorium, winning the 100- and 200-meter breaststrokes with times of 1:05.72 and 2:25.81, respectively. Transfer Farley-Sepe also continued to make a name for herself as a Redbird, winning the 200-yard IM in a pool-record time of 2:08.42.
Hill's time of 5:22.68 in the 500-yard freestyle marked a lifetime best performance by the senior, while Clark's second-place performance in the 200-yard backstroke, with a finish of 2:10.26, also marked a lifetime best.
Reigning MVC Diver of the Week, Caroline Lecoeur led the way for the Redbirds on the boards, posting a pool-record score of 280.00 in the 1-meter dive. Teammate Emily Aument finished second behind Lecoeur, recording a score of 270.00. Both marks meet NCAA Zone Qualifications in the event. The duo also finished with the top-two performances in the 3-meter diving event with similar scores.
"I was very happy with the divers' performances tonight," head diving coach Phil Hoffmann added. "We had much-improved performance attitudes and it showed. As we continue to build a strong foundation, these are the meets we need to have has a group."
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