Western Illinois and St. Louis opened their season with a dual meet in Macomb on Saturday. Both the St. Louis men and women came out on top. Western Illinois freshmen Marissa Purdham and Erica Hagen each picked up individual wins. Chris Neaveill also left his mark with a 52.0 to win the 100 fly. Riley Kirby won the backstroke double to help St. Louis on their way to victory.
Western Illinois:
MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois swimming and diving began the regular season in a dual meet against Saint Louis on Saturday (Sept. 26), with the men falling 160-136 while the women lost 209-85.
“I was very happy with what I saw throughout the meet,” said head coach Greg Naumann. “Our men’s team was only six points behind SLU going into the last two events, so the meet could have swung our way. I will definitely be able to see a lot more improvement out of the men’s and women ‘s teams over the next couple of weeks as we continue to build our training. This meet was very early for us, so we saw some struggles with finishing some longer races, and even trying to finish the last couple of races with the same energy and speed as the first couple.”
The Leathernecks’ first top finishes of the day came from a pair of freshman. Erica Hagen led all women in the 50-breast with a time of 32.12 while fellow freshman Sam Almhiemid (24.88) was followed closely by senior Dylon Rykosky (25.82) in the men’s 50-back. Hagen later came in second in the 100-IM in 1.02.89.
Young swimmers continued to turn in strong performances as the meet continued. Freshman Marissa Purdum out-touched the field in the 50-free in 25.75 before ranking second in the 100-free at 56.91.
Meanwhile on the men’s side, Almhiemid (53.95) and fellow first-year John Hall (54.45) took the top two spots in the 100-back. Another freshman, Chance McQuigg, tied for the lead in the 100-breast in 1.00.08 and came in second in the 100-IM in 54.37. Cameron Van De Velde (4:57.52) took second in the 500-free.
“Some of the impressive swims out of our freshmen were led by Marissa Purdum, Amanda Schaefer, Sam Almhiemid, and Cameron Van De Velde,” Naumann said. “It will be exciting to see what this years team will be capable of at The Summit League Championships. We will continue to do what we do, which is work hard and continue to build our strength, endurance, and speed.”
Chris Neaveill, the reigning co-MVP of The Summit League Championships, turned in a first-place performance by touching out in 52.09 in the 100-fly. His brother Tyler came in first in the 50-free in 22.09.
In the men’s 400-medley relay, the Leatherneck team of Chris Neaveill, JD Furr, Van De Velde and Tyler Neaveill earned second place in 3:30.83.
Matt Abercrombie (10:31.21) and Amanda Schaefer‘s (11:03.76) each helped Western Illinois record a pair of second-place finishes in the 1000-free.
Andie Villez (1:12.95) and Brittany Erickson (1:15.38, a career-best) took second and third, respectively, in the 100-breast. Furr also turned in a third-place performance in the men’s side in the event in 1:00.15.
Western compiled two second-place finishes in the 50-butterfly, with Tyler Neaveill‘s 24.01 time on the men’s side and Natalie Cumbie‘s 29.47 finish in the women’s race. Lizzie Hollopeter also came in second in the 100-back with a time of 1:01.30.
Western Illinois nearly swept the diving portion of the meet. Viktor Rusenas earned first-place scores in the one-meter (222.45) and three-meter (213.08). Melanie Pearson topped the one-meter (143.55) and was second in the three-meter (115.50).
The Leathernecks closed the day with a pair of second-place finishes in the 400-free relay. Western’s women’s team of Hollopeter, Schaefer, Hagan and Purdum finished in 3:49.92 while the men’s side of Rykosky, Hall and the Neaveill brothers turned in a 3:17.13 mark.
On Homecoming Weekend, Western Illinois will hold its Purple and Gold Intersquad Meet on Friday, October 2 at 5 p.m. before its Alumni Meet on Saturday, October 3 at 11 a.m.
Swimming news courtesy of Western Illinois Swimming.
St. Louis:
MEET DETAILS
Men’s Team, W 160-136
Women’s Team W, 209-85
Saturday, Sept. 26 | Macomb, Ill.
OVERVIEW
Both of Saint Louis’ swimming and diving teams captured victories over Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. The men’s team won 160-135 while the women won 208-85. Both teams are now 1-1 in dual meets this season.
SLU FIRST PLACE FINISHERS
Women’s 400-yard Medley Relay – Riley Kirby, Nora Gartland, Molly Updegraff, Maggie Sheean, 4:07.19
Men’s 400-yard Medley Relay – Austin Nguyenphu, T.J. Decker, Ryan McCoy, Brendan Hulseman, 3:28.34
Women’s 1000-yard Freestyle – Mina Glenesk, 10:44.94
Men’s 1000-yard Freestyle – Jeremy Goodison, 10:11.26
Women’s 200-yard Freestyle – Mattea Wabeke, 2:02.17
Men’s 200-yard Freestyle – Ryan McCoy, 1:42.91
Women’s 50-yard Backstroke- Riley Kirby, 28.25
Men’s 50-yard Breaststroke – Jack Kane, 27.65
Women’s 100-yard Butterfly – Mina Glenesk, 1:01.56
Women’s 100-yard Freestyle – Mina Glenesk, 55.49
Men’s 100-yard Freestyle – Ryan McCoy, 47.72
Women’s 100-yard Backstroke – Riley Kirby, 1:00.47
Women’s 100-yard Breaststroke – Nora Gartland, 1:12.43
Men’s 100-yard Breaststroke – Austin Nguyenphu, 1:00.08
Women’s 500-yard Freestyle – Mattea Wabeke, 5:23.49
Men’s 500-yard Freestyle – Jeremy Goodison, 4:53.77
Women’s 50-yard Butterfly – Olivia Garrett, 27.12
Men’s 50-yard Butterfly – Brenden Hulseman, 23.34
Women’s Three-Meter Diving – Kalley Schwab, 138.90
Women’s 100-yard IM – Mattea Wabeke, 1:02.18
Men’s 100-yard IM – T.J. Decker, 54.33
Women’s 400-yard Freestyle Relay – Olivia Garrett, Bre Anderson, Mina Glenesk, Maggie Sheean, 3:43.89
Men’s 400-yard Freestyle Relay – Brendan Hulseman, Nick Jessee, Brian North, Ryan McCoy, 3:09.25
UP NEXT
The Billikens are back in action on Oct. 2 at the Show-Me Showdown in Columbia, Mo. Saint Louis takes on all the college swim teams in Missouri on the Mizzou campus. Events begin at 3 p.m.
Swimming news courtesy of St. Louis Swimming & Diving.