Young Swimmers Star as Leathernecks Sail By Crusaders

Underclassmen shine in final tuneup before House of Champions

FULL MEET RESULTS

VALPARAISO, Ind. – Western Illinois had a swimmer touch first in 21 of Sunday's (Nov. 13) 28 events at Valparaiso, helping the Leathernecks crush the Crusaders 162-106 in the men's dual meet, and 174-91 in the women's competition.

"We had a really good meet against Valpo today," said head coach Greg Naumann. "This meet provided us with some extra looks at potential races for our midseason test meet at IUPUI starting this Friday. We definitely saw some great wins from a lot of different individuals, so this should give a lot of our swimmers some great confidence for the weekend."

Western Illinois saw three male swimmers win at least two separate events each. Freshman Brennan Bladel won the 200-free (1:46.04), 100-fly (53.15) and 200-back (2:01.41). The Leathernecks recorded a second-place touch in both the 200-free and 100-fly. Seth Brady's 1:50.65 mark registered second in the latter, with Samir Almhiemid (53.75) just barely getting out-touched in the 100-fly.

Chris Neaveill turned in a first place finish in both the 100-back (51.55) and 100-free (47.69). Chance McQuigg topped both the 100-breast (57.90) and 200-breast (2:12.83), with Kyle Siebert coming in second in both events with times of 1:00.98 and 2:14.93, respectively.

Connor Owens scored Western Illinois' first individual win, with a time of 10:24.56 in the 1000-free. Deven Ries recorded a 10:29.24 mark to place second in the event. The Leatherneck men also touched first with Almhiemid's 22.24 mark in the 50-free and Jerod Dyke's time of 2:02.45 in the 200-IM.

Young swimmers continued to star for Western Illinois on the women's side. First-years Miranda Mathus and Casey Roberts each took home two first place finishes. Mathus' mark of 2:18.60 won the 200-fly, and she blew by the competition in the 200-IM with a time of 2:14.27. Fellow freshman Madison Chao came in second in 200-IM in 2:21.95, and also came in first in the 200-back (2:14.19).

Roberts took two sprint events, edging Jacelyn Hanson (25.64) and Dana Kaftan (26.86) with a run of 24.79 in the 50-free. Roberts then etched her name for first in the 100-free with a time of 53.58.

Amanda Schaefer and Erica Hagen, two sophomores for the Leathernecks, each also scored a first place touch. Schaefer just barely beat Marissa Purdum (2:04.09) with a time of 2:04.00 in the 200-free. Hagen dominated the 200-breast by more than four seconds, winning the event in 2:31.55.

Western's relay squads also were strong, winning all four events. The women's 200-medley (Chao, Hagen, Mathus and Roberts) swam to a 1:50.96 mark for first. The 200-free relay team of Purdum, Hagen, Roberts and Mathus legged out a 1:41.14 victory, the fifth-best time in The Summit League this season.

Meanwhile, the men's 200-medley relay squadron of Neaveill, McQuigg, Drake Stierman and Josh Hill won first in 1:37.69. Almhiemid, Brady, McQuigg and Neaveill then raced to the fourth-best time (1:26.79) in the conference for the win in the 200-free relay.

Sunday's meet was the Leathernecks' last before the House of Champions, which run from Friday (Nov. 18) through Sunday (Nov. 20) in Indianapolis.

"We have put in a lot of hard work, and it's paying off," Naumann said. "House of Champions will be a very exciting meet for us, and I'm anxious to see what everyone does."

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Players Mentioned

Samir Almhiemid: Fly/Back; Sophomore; Chelsea

Seth Brady: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Valley

Chance McQuigg: Breast/IM; Sophomore; Richwoods

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

Deven Ries: Distance Free; Senior; Pekin

Kyle Siebert: Breast; Junior; Mundelein

Drake Stierman: Fly; Sophomore; Dubuque Senior

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Sophomore; Lisle

Dana Kaftan: Free; Sophomore; De Pere/Lindsey-Wilson College

Marissa Purdum: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Burlington Community

Amanda Schaefer: Distance; Sophomore; Arrowhead

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

Players Mentioned

Samir Almhiemid
: Sophomore; Chelsea
: Fly/Back

Seth Brady
: Sophomore; Valley
: Sprint Free

Chance McQuigg
: Sophomore; Richwoods
: Breast/IM

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

Deven Ries
: Senior; Pekin
: Distance Free

Kyle Siebert
: Junior; Mundelein
: Breast

Drake Stierman
: Sophomore; Dubuque Senior
: Fly

Erica Hagen
: Sophomore; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Dana Kaftan
: Sophomore; De Pere/Lindsey-Wilson College
: Free

Marissa Purdum
: Sophomore; Burlington Community
: Sprint Free

Amanda Schaefer
: Sophomore; Arrowhead
: Distance

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