Swim Teams Start Off MWC Championships in Fifth Place

Friday Results

GRINNELL, Iowa – The Illinois College swimming teams began the 2018 Midwest Conference Championships in fifth place after Friday night's competition. The Blueboys totaled 86 points on the evening, while the Lady Blues accumulated 82 points. The teams combined to set four new school records on the day.

On Friday morning, Martin Ambre set the tone for the day by qualifying for the 'A' final with a school-record time of 4:49.81 in the 500 Freestyle. On the women's side, Lindsay Bruce made it to the 'B' final for the Lady Blues, clocking in with the second-fastest time in school history with a 5:32.77.

Hannah Marks began her championships by setting a new school record in the 200 IM, advancing to the 'A' final in 2:14.64. Marcella Jacquemain went into the women's 'B' final, as did Ben Allen and Elijah Rhoad for the Blueboys. 

The last qualifier for the Friday night finals was Mike Weisenfelder in the 50 Freestyle. The junior missed out on making it to the 'A' final by one one-hundredth of a second, touching the wall in 22.36 seconds.

The first night of finals opened with the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay and each team finished sixth, respectively. The Blueboys clocked in at 1:38.26 behind performances from Nick Amodeo, Nick Smith, Oak Wattanasirakul and Ambre. The Lady Blues ended with a time of 1:49.71 with splits from Maddie Headtke, Tia Parker, Audrey Earle and Jacquemain.

In the first individual final of the night, Ambre ended in seventh place in the 500 Freestyle at 4:51.65. In the women's 'B' final, Bruce took 14th place in 5:33.02.

The 200 IM began with the men's competition, where Allen was victorious in the 'B' final with a new Illinois College record time of 2:00.01. That time was good for ninth place overall, and Rhoad claimed 13th place in 2:06.08. Marks followed that event by taking second place in the women's 200 IM, breaking the school record she set earlier in the day by dropping her time to 2:12.82 in the 'A' final. In the 'B' final, Jacquemain ended in 11th place in 2:21.47.

In the last individual event of the night for Illinois College, Weisenfelder won the 'B' final and took ninth place in the 50 Freestyle in 22.34 seconds.

The last team event on Friday night was the 400 Yard Medley Relay and the Blueboys came in sixth by finishing with the fourth-best time in program history. Allen, Wattanasirakul, Rhoad and Weisenfelder combined for a 3:42.86. That then set the stage for the women's race and the Lady Blues obliterated the school record in the 400 Medley Relay by nearly 10 full seconds, finishing fourth as Hannah Baker, Marks, Jacquemain and Bruce swam a 4:09.80.

Action resumes tomorrow with preliminary swims at 10 a.m. and the Saturday night finals beginning at 5:30 p.m.