NORMAL, Ill.-Â Head coach Riley Hilbrandt has announced the signings of four student-athletes to the Illinois State swimming and diving team, including three swimmers and one diver.
All four signees will be eligible for competition beginning 2025. See what Hilbrandt and Diving Coach Dallas O'Haver have to say about the newest Redbirds below:
Elena Posipishil (Omaha, NE.) - Breaststroke
Posipishil swam for the club Omaha Aquatics team and attended both Burke High School and most recently Westside High School. Posipishil was a finalist for three major invites, including the Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, the Metro Conference Championship, and the NSAA Championships. Posipishil most recently recorded a personal-best at the IA IFLY A3 Midwest Challenge where she took fifth in the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 31.18.
Hilbrandt on Posipishil: "Elena is coming in and will have an immediate impact to our team, specifically the breaststroke group. Her energy and excitement during the recruiting process confirmed that she is exactly what I'm looking to add to this team. Since recruiting Elena, she has only improved in her breaststroke events, and I couldn't be more excited to get to work with her."Â
Megan Sego (Batavia, Ill.) -Â Backstroke/IM
Sego swam at West Chicago Community High School while also being a member of the West Chicago Sharks and Academy Bullets Swim Club. She was a two-time finalist at the IHSAA Girls Sectional in St. Charles. Sego placed third in the 200 IM (2:12.61) and took fifth in the 100-yard butterfly (58.47).
Hilbrandt on Sego:Â "Megan is a native of Illinois, and her mom was also a member of the Redbird Swim & Dive family. Recruiting Megan was truly so fun! She will be adding depth in both the butterfly and IM areas. I'm excited to see Megan continue to grow over the next four years!"Â
Ines Kieffel (New Caledonia, FRA) - Freestyle
Kieffel recorded five personal bests at the New Zealand SC Championships in the 50 free (26.61, fifth)Â , 50 free extracted (27.62), 100 free (58.42, sixth), 50Â breast (36.49, 16th), and 200 yard breast (2:52.39, eighth).
Hilbrandt on Kieffel: "Ines will be coming in this spring, adding to our team right away. Ines is coming in with a lot of experience through her international competitions and her love for racing will show quickly. Being a huge impact to our roster right away, she will be a great sprint freestyle addition for our conference championship! I can't wait to work with her for the next four years."Â
Bayley Fowler (Chesterton, Ind.) - Diving
Fowler was a member of the Chesterton High School Diving team. Fowler recorded personal bests at both the IHSAA Girls Sectional hosted at Valparaiso University (408.00) and at the Chesterton vs Crown Point Dual recording a score of 191.85.
O'Haver on Fowler: "Bayley is an extremely talented diver who I am confident will make a big impact on our program upon arrival. She is a powerful diver with strong jumps, quick connections and clean line ups. She is hardworking, competitive, and motivated, constantly working on improving her diving with every repetition she takes off the diving board. Her gymnastics background, strong work ethic, and attention to detail will aid her success immensely," commented the Redbird diving coach. "We know Bayley will thrive as a Redbird and are excited to be a part of her journey." Â
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