Illinois State University’s swim and dive team began the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana, with two top-five finishes on the first day. The Redbirds earned 171 points, with five athletes advancing to finals in their respective events.
During morning preliminaries, two swimmers from Illinois State qualified for the finals of the 500-yard freestyle. Sophomore Amelia Murphy led with a personal best of 5:04.14, while sophomore Hope Westphal advanced with a time of 5:08.94.
Senior Giulia Basco reached the finals in the 200-yard individual medley after recording a time of 2:07.83. Other competitors—sophomore Avery Watson (2:08.66), junior Shelby Gourley (2:11.77), and freshman Megan Sego (2:15.52)—achieved season-best times but did not advance.
In the 50-yard freestyle, senior Mia Snow qualified for finals with a season-best time of 23.16 seconds, joined by senior Ella Turken who posted a time of 23.51 seconds.
The evening finals saw Illinois State’s relay team—Turken, Davis, Tyler, and Snow—finish fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.83, marking it as the fifth-fastest performance in program history.
Murphy improved her personal best in the final round of the 500-yard freestyle to finish at 5:03.82; Westphal also bettered her preliminary mark to record a time of 5:04.91.
Basco set another personal best during her final swim in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:06.64.
Snow achieved seventh place in the final round of the 50-yard freestyle at 23.34 seconds—the highest MVC championship finish of her career for this event—while Turken registered a new season-best at 23.27 seconds.
The Redbirds closed out day one with another fifth-place result as Boulden, Fris, Snow, and Turken finished the 400-yard medley relay in a time of 3:43.83—the third-fastest performance for Illinois State in that event’s history.
Illinois State will continue competition on Thursday morning when action resumes at Deaconess Aquatic Center at 10:30 a.m., beginning with preliminary heats on day two.
According to information from their official website, Illinois State Redbirds benefit from initiatives such as the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund aimed at enhancing competitiveness and recruitment efforts across sports programs including swimming and diving.
The athletic department is affiliated with Illinois State University and participates in NCAA Division I competitions throughout various regions (source).
Student-athletes utilize facilities like OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for preparation (source).
Fans can access news updates, schedules, rosters and other resources through official channels provided by Illinois State Redbirds (source).
GoRedbirds.com remains an outlet for tickets and additional fan engagement opportunities.
