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Men's Swimming and Diving Saturday, February 18, 2017 WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Finish Championships With 10 More Top-10 Program Marks

Western men conclude event in fifth while women place sixth

SATURDAY RESULTS
FULL CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

INDIANAPOLIS – The Western Illinois swimming and diving teams added 10 more top-10 times Saturday (Feb. 18) at The Summit League Championships in Indianapolis. The Leatherneck men concluded the four-day meet by finishing fifth with 363 points, while the women came in sixth with 196 points. During their time in Indianapolis, Western Illinois saw one school record fall while entering 23 new top-10 times in the program record books.

The team performed very well at conference this year," said head coach Greg Naumann. "Even though we didn't break as many records as we traditionally have in years past, we did have a lot of changes to our top-10 list. Many of the changes came from our new faces, so this is a great sign for things to come. What was great was to see new faces on the team coming back to score for the team when they didn't do that last year, or the year before."

After winning the preliminaries of the 100-IM (50.26), Chris Neaveill compiled a 50.37 in the finals to finish in second place in the event. Erica Hagen swam identical 59.51 times for eighth place on the women's side, with Miranda Mathus (59.88) coming in 12th.

Brennan Bladel continued a strong Championships by registering the second-best time in school history in the 200-back. The freshman blazed to a 1:50.76 time that gave him a fourth-place finish in the event.

Another freshman, Casey Roberts, etched her name for the third-best time in program history in the 100-free. She surged to a 52.38 time in the finals for 10th place at the meet. Marissa Purdum also swam a 53.30 in the prelims, the eighth-best mark in school history.

In the women's 200-breast, Hagen lunged for a 2:25.84 mark in the prelims, the sixth-best in WIU history. Meanwhile, Andie Villez's 2:31.46 time in the finals placed her 15th at the meet. For the same event on the men's side, Chance McQuigg's 2:04.12 swim placed him eighth. Another freshman, Connor Owens, recorded a 2:05.17 time in the finals that was the seventh-best in school history, while netting him 10th place. Kyle Siebert's 2:05.92 mark, the ninth-fastest in program history, gave him 12th place at the meet.

Samir Almhiemid sprinted for a 46.38 time in the 100-free finals for eighth in school history. The sophomore came in 13th at the meet, with teammate Seth Brady (47.10) placing 15th. Josh Hill also recorded the eighth-fastest mark in WIU history in the 200-fly (1:55.10). Hill came in eighth at the meet, with Drake Stierman (2:00.88) and Anfernee Sturdivant (2:02.13) also reaching the finals to come in 13th and 15th, respectively.

Both of Western's 400-free relay teams set the second-best times in school history. McQuigg, Brady, Almhiemid and Neaveill surged to a 3:03.06 mark for third place at the meet. The women's squadron of Mathus, Allison DeWane, Purdum and Roberts raced at 3:32.44 for sixth place.

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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

Kyle Siebert: Breast; Junior; Mundelein

Drake Stierman: Fly; Sophomore; Dubuque Senior

Anfernee Sturdivant: Fly/Breast; Junior; George Westinghouse College Prep

Allison DeWane: Sprint Free; Junior; Woodstock

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Sophomore; Lisle

Marissa Purdum: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Burlington Community

Andie Villez: Breaststroke; Senior; Shawano

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

Kyle Siebert
: Junior; Mundelein
: Breast

Drake Stierman
: Sophomore; Dubuque Senior
: Fly

Anfernee Sturdivant
: Junior; George Westinghouse College Prep
: Fly/Breast

Allison DeWane
: Junior; Woodstock
: Sprint Free

Erica Hagen
: Sophomore; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Marissa Purdum
: Sophomore; Burlington Community
: Sprint Free

Andie Villez
: Senior; Shawano
: Breaststroke

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