Hagen Sets School-Record As Western Closes House of Champions Strong

Men finish sixth in meet, women take ninth

HOUSE OF CHAMPIONS FULL RESULTS
DAY ONE RECAP

INDIANAPOLIS – Sophomore Erica Hagen set a Western Illinois record in the 100-breast during the House of Champions meet from Friday (Nov. 18) through Sunday (Nov. 20) at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis. The Leatherneck men finished sixth with 530 points, while the women came in ninth with 371 points.

"We had a very good meet at IUPUI," said head coach Greg Naumann. "We saw a couple of lifetime best times, many in-season best times, a couple of changes to our top-10 list and even a school record. It was a very difficult meet based upon the number of swims, the speed of the competition, and not being fully rested. We did get stronger as the meet progressed, which is great for us to see since this meet format is so taxing on the body."

During Saturday's women's 100-breast event, Hagen raced to a school-record 1:03.96 time in the prelims. Her 1:04.95 time in the finals then placed her fourth for the event.

Meanwhile, Western's freshman continued to pen their names throughout the school's record book. Miranda Mathus' 1:54.93 race in the 200-free is the fifth-best in school history, which placed her 11th in the meet, while Casey Roberts' 1:56.62 swim is the 10th-fastest in program history.

The Leathernecks also registered three new program marks in the women's 100-back. Haley Locke's 59.70 time in the prelims tied her for sixth in WIU history. Madison Chao (59.92) and Jacelyn Hanson (59.97) just trailed Locke in the prelims for the school's seventh and eighth place etchings.

"Our freshman really stepped up to the plate and threw down some awesome times," Naumann said. "Our returners also stepped up and swam lights-out across the board. We did have a couple of swimmers that weren't feeling 100%, but they even rallied as we got close to the finish line."

On the men's side, Chance McQuigg bursted to a 55.67 time for sixth place in the men's 100-breast, the best finish for any male Leatherneck during Saturday's meet.

Western would close day two strong in the diving session, with senior Melanie Pearson earning third place with a finals score of 226.10.

The Leathernecks would close the three-day meet with a strong team effort. Locke came in second in the C Final with a time of 2:08.56 in the 200-back, the sixth-best in WIU history.

In the 100-free, Roberts' 52.97 prelim touch also marked the sixth-fastest in school history. Also during the preliminaries of the same event, Marissa Purdum's 53.82 snuck in for ninth in the Purple and Gold record books.

Hagen would then add her name one more time for the weekend into the program's top-10. The sophomore's 2:27.02 mark in the 200-breast registered eighth on the all-time WIU list. Mathus would later do the same, also taking eighth in school history with a 2:12.15 swim in the 200-fly prelims.

Sunday's men's performance also cemented Western into the top six for the meet.

Both McQuigg and Chris Neaveill continued their strong seasons, each with sixth-place touches for the meet. McQuigg hit the wall in 2:03.14 during the 200-breast finals to take sixth. Later on, Neaveill also recorded a sixth-place finish by swimming a 1:52.00 in the 200-fly. The pair would team with Samir Almhiemid and Seth Brady to place sixth in the 400-free relay, with a time of 3:04.93.

Also of note for the Leathernecks, freshman Connor Owens stenciled his name for 10th in the 200-breast in school history in 2:08.46 in the prelims.

"This team has a ton of fight in them, and definitely don't want to lose, said Naumann. "They are carrying on the tradition of tough!"

Western Illinois will get a week to rest from the House of Champions before a dual meet on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Truman State.

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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

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Sophomore; Lisle

Melanie Pearson: Diving; Senior; Franklin

Marissa Purdum: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Burlington Community

Connor Owens: Breast; Freshman; Flower Mound

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

Madison Chao: Back; Freshman; Grapevine Senior

Casey Roberts: Sprint Free; Freshman; Naperville Central

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

Erica Hagen
: Sophomore; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Melanie Pearson
: Senior; Franklin
: Diving

Marissa Purdum
: Sophomore; Burlington Community
: Sprint Free

Connor Owens
: Freshman; Flower Mound
: Breast

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

Madison Chao
: Freshman; Grapevine Senior
: Back

Casey Roberts
: Freshman; Naperville Central
: Sprint Free