Leathernecks Start Season With Strong Showing at Butler Invite

Freshman impress in season-opener

Butler Invite Results
Dual Meet Scores

FISHERS, Ind. – The Western Illinois swimming and diving squads began the regular season Sunday (Oct. 2) by competing in the Butler Invite in Fishers, Ind. The Leathernecks battled with Butler, Xavier, Saint Louis, Wright State and Valparaiso in a dual meet format, with the Leathernecks knocking off the Crusaders in their matchups.

"We had a really good meet when we compare to where we have been at this time of the season for the past two years," said head coach Greg Naumann. "We've changed up our training just a bit this year, which has allowed us to have some faster splits in our races, but not necessarily best times. We still need to bring our aerobic conditioning up, but that will happen over the next couple of months. I'm very happy with the results we saw based upon our current training habits."

Sophomore Chance McQuigg, who earned All-League honors at The Summit League Championships last year, picked right up from where he left off. The Peoria, Ill. native registered the best touch for anyone on Western's men's squad, finishing second in the 200-IM in 1:55.38.

Meanwhile, the Leathernecks showed off some of their best young swimmers. Freshman Miranda Mathus had the best touch for any Leatherneck woman, hitting the wall in the 200-free in 1:57.60 for a second-place finish. Fellow freshman Casey Roberts came in fourth in the 100-free at 54.93, while, on the men's side, first-year Brennan Bladel earned a pair of top-10 finishes in the 200-back (fifth, 1:58.71) and 200-free (1:45.93).

"Our freshman definitely had a great first meet of their collegiate careers," Naumann said. "I'm excited to see them carry on the Western Illinois Tradition of Tough, breaking school records."

Chris Neaveill earned a sixth-place spot in the men's 50-free (21.99), with Kyle Siebert doing the same in the 200-breast (2:12.82). Erica Hagen, another strong returnee, placed eighth in the women's 200-IM (2:16.62).

Western Illinois' men's relay squads picked up a pair of fourth-place touches in the 200-medley (Bladel, McQuigg, Neaveill, Seth Brady, 1:36.39) and 400-free relays (Neaveill, Brady, McQuigg, Josh Hill, 3:12.83), respectively. The Leathernecks' women's 200-medley relay team of Taylor Winkel, Hagen, Mathus and Roberts finished fifth with a time of 1:50.88.

On the diving side, Melanie Pearson came in second in the women's 1-meter with a score of 198.30. Quetzal Gallagher recorded second with 245.80 points in the 1-meter, while Colin Parker's 240.35 score gave him second in the 3-meter dive.

Western Illinois hosts the Purple & Gold Alumni Meet on Friday (Oct. 7) at 5 p.m., before heading back to the Naptown region to compete at the IUPUI Pentathlon in Indianapolis on Saturday, October 8 at 1 p.m.

"We've got a short week where we will see a bit more of a 'fun' meet at IUPUI," said Naumann. "We will have everyone swim 100 yards of each stroke and the 100 IM. It should be fun to watch some of our members compete in races they don't normally see during the season."

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Players Mentioned

Seth Brady: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Valley

Quetzal Gallagher: Diving; Sophomore; Pueblo County

Chance McQuigg: Breast/IM; Sophomore; Richwoods

Chris Neaveill: Sprint Free/Fly; Senior; Peoria Notre Dame

Kyle Siebert: Breast; Junior; Mundelein

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Sophomore; Lisle

Melanie Pearson: Diving; Senior; Franklin

Taylor Winkel: Back; Junior; Lincoln

Brennan Bladel: Fly/IM/Back; Freshman; Davenport North

Colin Parker: Diving; Freshman; Patton

Miranda Mathus: Fly/IM/Free; Freshman; Peoria Notre Dame

Casey Roberts: Sprint Free; Freshman; Naperville Central

Players Mentioned

Seth Brady
: Sophomore; Valley
: Sprint Free

Quetzal Gallagher
: Sophomore; Pueblo County
: Diving

Chance McQuigg
: Sophomore; Richwoods
: Breast/IM

Chris Neaveill
: Senior; Peoria Notre Dame
: Sprint Free/Fly

Kyle Siebert
: Junior; Mundelein
: Breast

Erica Hagen
: Sophomore; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Melanie Pearson
: Senior; Franklin
: Diving

Taylor Winkel
: Junior; Lincoln
: Back

Brennan Bladel
: Freshman; Davenport North
: Fly/IM/Back

Colin Parker
: Freshman; Patton
: Diving

Miranda Mathus
: Freshman; Peoria Notre Dame
: Fly/IM/Free

Casey Roberts
: Freshman; Naperville Central
: Sprint Free