Wildcats win all 16 events
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The #10 NMU women’s swim and dive team had a dominant performance in the pool today against the #13 Wayne State Warriors.
The ‘Cats claimed 37 of a possible 48 podium finishes in 16 events today, including earning gold in every event, and sweeping the podium on five separate occasions: the 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, and 100 fly.
Anika Wright claimed first in all four of her events (400 medley relay, 1000 free, 500 free, 400 IM). Fellow distance swimmer Annika Geyer earned medals in all four of her events as well, with gold in the 200 fly and silver in the 1000 free, 500 free, and 400 free relay.
Evie DeCarlo earned gold in the 400 medley relay, 100 breast, and 100 free. Manuela Arujo found gold in the 200 free and 200 IM to go with silver in the 400 IM. Sophia Moore earned gold in the 400 medley relay and 100 fly to go with silver in the 200 fly. Evangeline Pierce earned gold in the 200 back to go with silver in the 100 back and 400 medley relay.
Kalina Ceglinksi continues her tear of great form, earning two more gold medals on both the boards today. Grace Daly and Lilian Marx earned bronze in the 1-meter and 3-meter, respectively.
How It Happened
It was the 400 medley relay that kicked off the meet, with NMU claiming three of the top four spots. The NMU A team of Casas, DeCarlo, Moore, and Wright claimed gold at 3:57.09, followed by the NMU B team of Pierce, Zimpel, Schneider, and Stockinger in second at 4:00.63. The Wayne A team took bronze, and the NMU C team of Stute, Blackmore, Devine, and Keen took fourth.
The 1000 free was the second event in the pool, and it was Wright and Geyer blowing the field out of the water. Wright claimed gold with her time of 10:35.15, followed by Geyer in second at 10:41.42, who cleared third place by 11 seconds and fourth place by 20 seconds. Aarseth also swam, claiming sixth.
NMU’s first podium sweep of the meet came in the 200 free, as Araujo, Kilgard, and Santi claimed gold, silver, and bronze, all finishing within 0.73 seconds of each other. Araujo touched first at 1:58.08, Kilgard at 1:58.32, and Santi at 1:58.81. Arabic claimed fourth, Burda seventh, and Malinova eighth.
The ‘Cats would sweep the podium in back-to-back events, claiming the top three spots in the 100 back. Casas touched first at 59.36, followed closely by Pierce at 59.89, and rounded out by Stockinger at 1:00.15. Aarseth also competed, claiming seventh.
For the third straight event, the Green and Gold claimed the top three spots, as DeCarlo, Zimpel, and Bonini led the way in the 100 breast. DeCarlo touched at 1:06.08, followed by Zimpel at 1:07.47, and Bonini at 1:08.06. Stute finished fifth, Blackmore seventh, and Millward eighth to round out the ‘Cats in the event.
NMU pushed it to four straight events, as the trio of Geyer, Moore, and Schneider swept the 200 fly. Geyer was out ahead of everyone, as she touched the wall at 2:10.08, three seconds ahead of her teammate Moore in second at 2:13.11, and Schneider would round out the podium at 2:14.90. Izydorek claimed sixth and Plevak eighth to round out the ‘Cats.
Though the streak would end at four, the ‘Cats still claimed two of the top three spots in the 50 free, and would produce five of the top six times. Burda claimed gold at 25.04 and Stockinger second at 25.12, followed by Arbic, Keen, and Kilgard in fourth, fifth, and sixth. Devine claimed eighth and Rose in 10th at 25.86, as spots one through ten were all within 0.80 seconds of each other.
Ceglinski picked up right where she left off, as she opened her meet with a commanding gold-medal finish in the 1-meter diving with her score of 450.00, outing second place by nearly 25 points. Freshman Daly continues to impress, claiming bronze, followed by Marx in fifth and Bossen in seventh.
The Wildcats claimed six of the top eight spots in the 100 free, led by a gold medal from DeCarlo at 54.64. Arbic captured bronze at 55.26, Schneider in fifth, Keen in sixth, Santi in seventh, and Burda in eighth. Rose, Millward, and Karubas finished 10 through 12.
Four of the top five spots in the 200 back belonged to the ‘Cats, led by Pierce, capturing gold at 2:09.49. Stute rounded out the podium in third at 2:11.53, with Casas and Malinova claiming fourth and fifth, respectively.
The 200 breast featured the top two spots held by the ‘Cats, as Araujo and Zimpel went first and second with times of 2:26.26 and 2:28.34, respectively. Bonini claimed fifth and Blackmore seventh to round out the NMU swimmers.
The 500 free was comfortably won by Wright, posting a time of 5:08.51 to capture gold. Geyer finished second at 5:17.91, Kilgard finished fourth at 5:25.22, and Aarseth finished eighth.
NMU swept the podium and claimed seven of the top nine spots, this time coming in the 100 fly. Moore earned gold at 58.70, Schneider silver at 59.83, and Izydorek bronze at 1:00.11. Malinova claimed fifth, Devine seventh, Santi eighth, and Casas ninth. Rounding out the field of 16 were Stute (11), Pierce (12), Bonini (14), and Rose (16).
Ceglinski ended the afternoon with another gold medal, earning first in the 3-meter with her score of 278.18. After a fifth-place finish in the 1-meter, Marx claimed bronze in the 3-meter, with a score of 235.05. Daly finished fifth, and Bossen eighth.
Wright claimed her fourth gold medal of the meet in the 400 IM, as she paced the field with her time of 4:34.85. Araujo earned silver at 4:38.87 to round out the ‘Cats on the podium. DeCarlo finished fifth, Blackmore ninth, Zimpel 10, and Plevak 11.
The 400 free relay ended the pool events, and the ‘Cats claimed four of the top five spots. The NMU A team of Stockinger, Kilgard, Arbic, and Keen earned gold at 3:37.45, followed by the NMU B team of Geyer, Santi, Devine, and Burda earning silver at 3:41.25. The NMU C team of Moore, Aarseth, Araujo, and Rose took fourth, and the NMU D team of Millward, Izydorek, Bonini, and Malinova took fifth.
