By: Hannah Marks became the first Illinois College swimmer to win a Midwest Conference event, taking first in the women’s 100 Breaststroke.
Saturday Results
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Illinois College swimming programs set eight new school records on Saturday at the Midwest Conference Championships. With one day of competition remaining, the Lady Blues find themselves in fourth place with 191 points, while the Blueboys are sixth with 195 points.
Three records fell in the Saturday morning prelims, only to be broken again later in the day. The first of those records came in the 400 IM where
Marcella Jacquemain recorded a 5:05.83 to make it to the 'B' final. For the men,
Ben Allen had a 4:23.58 to qualify for the 'A' final and
Elijah Rhoad also advanced to the 'B' final.
In the prelims of the 200 Freestyle,
Martin Ambre had a 1:46.75 to make it to the men's 'A' final.
Lindsay Bruce touched in 2:02.28 to qualify for the women's 'B' final.
The 100 Breaststroke saw four IC swimmers advance to finals.
Oak Wattanasirakul made it to the 'A' final for the men and
Mike Weisenfelder qualified for the 'B' final. For the Lady Blues,
Hannah Marks finished first in the prelims with a school record of 1:07.52.
Audrey Earle also made her way into the 'B' final.
The final IC individual swimmer to advance to a final was
Hannah Baker, advancing to the 'A' final of the 100 Backstroke after a morning time of 1:04.21.
The Saturday night finals got underway with the 200 Yard Medley Relay, and the Blueboy team of Allen, Wattanasirakul, Rhoad and Weisenfelder ended in sixth place with a time of 1:40.21, the third-best showing in school history for the event. The Lady Blues followed with a school record as the team of Baker, Marks, Jacquemain and Bruce combined for a time of 1:52.78 to finish fourth.
The first individual event of Saturday night was the 400 IM and both Illinois College teams established new school records. For the men, Allen ended in fourth place with a time of 4:17.48. Jacquemain would later lower her own record from earlier in the day, winning the women's 'B' final in 5:04.63. Rhoad was also the winner of the men's 'B' final in 4:30.67.Â
Records continued to fall in the 200 Freestyle with both Ambre and Bruce setting new school records. For Ambre, his time of 1:45.84 put him in fifth place. Bruce won the 'B' final for the Lady Blues in 2:01.28.
The 100 Breaststroke followed the 200 Free and the Blueboys had two swimmers in the finals. Weisenfelder ended up in sixth place in the 'B' final, finishing 14th overall in 1:04.55. Wattanasirakul then took seventh in the 'A' final with a time of 1:01.16.
The biggest story of the night for Illinois College came in the women's 100 Breaststroke. After producing the fastest time in prelims earlier in the day, Marks did it again and became the first Illinois College swimmer to ever win an event at the Midwest Conference Championships. Her time of 1:07.10 was a school record and well over two seconds better than anyone else in the field.
The last individual swimmer of the night had yet another school record, this time courtesy of
Hannah Baker in the 100 Backstroke. The freshman wrapped up her race in sixth place with a time of 1:02.47.
The final relay of the night was the 800 Freestyle Relay and the Blueboys did well, producing a fourth-place finish by Weisenfelder, Allen, Rhoad and Ambre with a time of 7:28.13. The Lady Blues then took fifth place in the 800 Freestyle Relay, wiping nearly 30 seconds off the prior school record as Jacquemain, Baker, Marks and Bruce ended in 8:29.94.
The final day of action tomorrow at the Midwest Conference Championships gets a little bit earlier of a start. Prelims being at 9 a.m. and the Sunday finals will get started at 4 p.m.
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