By: Freshman Eve Gonzales turned in a blistering time in the 1000 Freestyle to set a new school record by more than 30 seconds.
DECATUR, Ill. – On the road for the first time this season, the Illinois College men's and women's swim teams put in some great performances, but fell short in dual meets with Millikin. The Big Blue men won a 124-42 decision over the Blueboys, while on the women's side, Millikin escaped with a 104-77 victory.
Despite the losses, it was a positive night in the water for Illinois College, with individuals on both teams showing major signs of progress early on this season. The best showing of the night came from freshman
Eve Gonzales. Competing in the 1000-yard Freestyle, Gonzales shattered the program record in the event with a time of 12:46.01. Her time was more than 14 seconds faster than what she managed in the season opener against Franklin, which previously held the record.
She was one of two individual winners on the night for the women's team. The other was
Audrey Brauer in the 100-yard Backstroke. In a tight battle, Brauer edged out Randi Mehrmann to the wall by .60 to win with a time of 1:10.90.
Other top times for the Lady Blues included
Lorraine Thompson's 59.98 in the 100 Freestyle, a finish that puts her in a tie with former IC swimmer
Elisha Nelson for fifth place in the program annals. Thompson placed second in the race, less than a second behind the winner. The final event of the women's competition was the 400 Freestyle Relay where Thompson,
Katia Swane-Barzowski, Gonzalez and Brauer all combined for a time of 4:05.21, the third-best finish in IC history.
On the men's side,
Oak Wattanasirakul continued to build on his early-season success. After being named the Midwest Conference Men's Performer of the Week on Monday, Wattanasirakul came back with a victory in the 100-yard Breaststroke, winning by .28 with a time of 1:04.12.
Distance freestyle specialist
Jonah Macke-Booth recorded a second place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, wrapping up the event in 11:45.21. The senior now owns the top four times in the event for the Blueboys.
Another record that may soon fall is in the 200 Individual Medley. After opening the season with a 2:15.64 in the race on Saturday, freshman
Elijah Rhoad lowered his time to 2:15.51 on Friday night. With the school record sitting at 2:14.10, Rhoad could set a school mark sooner rather than later.
Illinois College will come back home to the Coultas Natatorium for a quad meet on Nov. 8 with Knox, Millikin and Principia. Action will get underway at 1 p.m.
