COLUMBIA, Mo. – Senior Kierston Farley-Sepe broke the Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet record and Illinois State school record in the 200-yard IM final on Thursday night, clocking in a time of 1:59.71. The Redbirds moved into third in the team standings after day two of the championships with 185 points, behind Missouri State (309.50) and Southern Illinois (214).
IN THE POOL
A total of 10 season best performances were turned in during the preliminary round on Thursday in three different events:
Morgan Rosser (5:00.42) and Julia Oostman (5:04.77) finished first and third, respectively, in the C-Final to finish 17th and 19th overall, both posting season best times in the 500-yard freestyle. Haley Rivera (2:04.22), Julie Kolar (2:04.81) and Jensen Keck (2:06.81) went 6-7-8 behind Farley-Sepe in the 200-yard IM, as the quartet combined to score 56 points. Emily Keebler (2:04.99) and Madyson Morse (2:05.66) added 13 more points to ISU's team total, finishing 10th and 11th overall, respectively, in the 200-yard IM B-Final. Rounding out individual competition for the Redbirds in the pool was Katie Tillotson, who clocked in a time of 23.84 in the 50-yard freestyle to contribute seven points towards the team total.
ON THE BOARDS
Caroline Lecoeur and Kamryn Blake led the way for the Redbirds in the 1-meter diving event, finishing third and 12th in the preliminary round, respectively. In the B-Finals, Blake posted a score of 232.80, good for a ninth-place finish overall and nine team points. In the A-Finals, Lecoeur boasted a score of 275.45, finishing third overall to account for 16 total points.
DAY 1
The Redbirds opened the MVC Championships on Wednesday night, finishing fourth in the 800-yard freestyle relay (Farley-Sepe, Licking, Morse, Rivera) in a time of 7:30.51. The 200-yard medley relay quartet of Farley-Sepe, Keck, Rivera and Morse turned in a fifth-place finish, posting a time of 1:42.93.
Illinois State will resume action on Friday with the preliminary round beginning at 11 a.m. and finals slated for 6 p.m. More information can be found on the MVC's Championship Central page.
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