NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State swim & dive celebrated its senior class Saturday afternoon with a 196-95 victory over Marquette at Horton Pool.
The Redbirds collected 14 gold medals, nine silver medals and seven bronze medals throughout the meet.
Prior to the swimming events, Illinois State recognized its 2026-27 senior class, featuring Selena Corona, Shelby Gourley, Sylvia Admire and Bailey Gott.
"I am very happy with the team's performance today," said Illinois State head coach Ryan Evans. "We had a solid block of training since our last meet in the middle of October, and the hard work is paying off. We are in a great position as we head into the Hawkeye Invitational."
Evans also highlighted the contributions of the senior class, which made the most of its final home meet. Gott secured a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 24.82, while Gourley recorded a season-best performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:09.45.
"Our second performers of the meet were our senior class," Evans said. "They had a memorable senior meet. Sylvia returned to action after being out of the pool for over a month with an injury, Shelby swam a season-best 100 breaststroke, Bailey won the 50 free and had a great 200 backstroke, and Selena won the 1-meter today. I am looking forward to them continuing this momentum for the next couple of months."
Illinois State opened the swimming portion of the meet with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay. The quartet of Hailey Fris, Ava Ostendorf, Martyna Dobek and Alex Davis touched the wall in 1:46.60 to secure first place.
The Redbirds swept both diving events, with Corona winning the 1-meter event with a score of 240.45 and sophomore Emma Thompson claiming the 3-meter title with a score of 246.60.
Ostendorf highlighted the afternoon in the pool, breaking the longest-standing record at Horton Pool in the 200-yard breaststroke. Her winning time of 2:18.28 eclipsed the previous mark of 2:19.04, set in 2007. Ostendorf also moved into sixth in program history in the 100-yard breaststroke with a personal-best time of 1:04.58.
"We had two performers of the meet today. First off, Ava Ostendorf continues her outstanding sophomore season," Evans said. "I am very proud of her achieving a lifetime best in the 100 breaststroke and breaking the Horton Pool record in the 200 breaststroke, our longest-standing pool record."
Freshman Molly Allison continued her strong debut season, earning victories in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.47) and 500-yard freestyle (5:07.48). Her time in the 500 free marked a season best.
Alex Davis followed with a season-best time of 52.45 to win the 100-yard freestyle.
Fris captured a pair of individual victories, winning the 100-yard backstroke in a season-best 57.10 and the 200-yard backstroke in 2:06.24.
Illinois State added two more individual event wins in the butterfly. Freya Hingston claimed the 100-yard butterfly with a personal-best time of 56.85, while Julia Bartula won the 200-yard butterfly in a season-best 2:09.54.
The Redbirds closed the meet with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Allison, Davis, Elle Dameworth and Fris combined for a winning time of 1:36.29.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds return to action at the Hawkeye Invitational on Nov. 17-21 in Iowa City, Iowa.
