Illinois State University’s swim and dive team completed the second day of the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Redbirds finished day one with 307 points and had nine athletes reach finals in their events.
In preliminary rounds on day two, four Illinois State swimmers qualified for the 100-yard butterfly final. Senior Mia Snow led with a runner-up time of 53.83 seconds. Seniors Giulia Basco (56.03), Ella Turken (56.77), and Delaney Boulden (56.99) also advanced to the final.
For the 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Hope Westphal and freshman Ava Ostendorf reached the final, recording times of 4:36.76 and a season-best 4:37.70, respectively.
Three Redbirds made it to the finals in the 200-yard freestyle after prelims. Sophomore Amelia Murphy set a season-best time of 1:51.25, while juniors Sylvia Admire (1:53.17) and Bailey Gott (1:53.23) also posted season bests.
In finals competition, Snow repeated her runner-up finish in the 100-yard butterfly for a second consecutive year. Basco improved her standing with a time of 55.62, moving to fifth on Illinois State’s all-time list for this event, while Boulden recorded a season-best mark of 56.36.
Westphal bettered her previous time in the 400 IM final with a new season best of 4:36.61; Ostendorf finished in her championship debut with a time of 4:40.28.
Murphy took twelfth place in the 200 free final with a time of 1:50.98, marking the tenth-fastest performance in program history for that event. Gott finished at 1:53.95 during her first conference meet appearance for Illinois State; Admire posted a finals time of 1:54.80.
The Redbirds’ relay team—Boulden, Fris, Snow, and Turken—closed out day two by recording a time of 1:42.21 in the 200-yard medley relay, which is now seventh fastest on record for Illinois State.
On diving boards, sophomore Emma Thompson and freshman Bayley Fowler both advanced to the B Finals from preliminaries on one-meter dives with scores of 200.80 and 200.25 respectively; they later improved their marks to 204.90 and 206.70 in finals.
Competition continues Friday morning at Deaconess Aquatic Center as Illinois State returns for day three’s events starting at 10:30 a.m.
Illinois State Redbirds compete across NCAA Division I events throughout various regions (source). The athletic program benefits from resources like the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center to prepare student-athletes (source) and receives support through initiatives such as the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund (source). More information about news updates, schedules, rosters, fan resources, or ticketing can be found on their official website.
