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Men's Swimming and Diving Saturday, February 17, 2018 WIU Athletic Communications

Hagen Becomes First Leatherneck Women's Swimmer To Finish Top-Three At Championships Since 2010

Western Illinois concludes Championships with three more top-10 program times

DAY FOUR RESULTS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Erica Hagen became the first Western Illinois women's swimmer since 2010 to finish in the top three at The Summit League Championships, as the Leathernecks wrapped up the four-day meet on Saturday (Feb. 17). The Western Illinois men finished fourth with 367.5 points, while the women took fifth with 219 points.

Hagen zoomed to a 57.84 time in the 100-IM for third place. Thus, the Lisle, Ill., native is the first female Western Illinois swimmer to notch a top-three spot at the Championships since Laura Dinkelmann (second, 200-fly) and Lauren Trondle (second, 1000-free) both did so in 2010. In the same event, Miranda Mathus took ninth with a 59.23 mark. Hagen later punched in 13th in the 200-breast (2:27.15).

"We had a decent meet," said head coach Greg Naumann. "It was really good for us when compared to our season times, but not quite as fast as our lifetime best swims. I would have been more excited about the team being able to have more lifetime best swims, but I think a good chunk of the blame should rest on my shoulders. There were a couple of things that we did down the stretch that we can change for the future, but that knowledge didn't really help is at conference. The team did an awesome job of fighting each and every session. We did have more swimmers get going as the meet progressed, and I thought that we did finish well."

Connor Owens' 2:02.94 time in the 200-breast is the third-best all-time of any Leatherneck swimmer, earning him fifth place at the Championships. Kyle Siebert placed 11th in the event at 2:07.62, with Austin Martin taking 16th (2:17.46).

Garrett Kemp's 1:53.20 time in the 200-fly marked the fourth-fastest of any WIU swimmer historically, helping him to take sixth in the event at the meet. Amy Borgstede knocked in the eighth-best mark in program history in the women's 200-fly with a 2:11.30 swim for 12th place at the Championships.

In the men's 100-IM, Chance McQuigg narrowly missed the top three by 0.07 seconds with a 51.32 finish. The Leathernecks also saw Isaiah Pihlstrom (13th, 56.21), Drake Stierman (14th, 56.36) and Martin (16th, 58.36) earn a trip to the finals.

Brennan Bladel continued his strong Championships with a sixth-place touch in the 200-back (1:51.10). Kemp registered 12th at 1:59.12. The women's 200-back saw three Western Illinois swimmers make the finals, finishing consecutively in the B-Final. Taylor Winkel rolled up 14th at 2:14.18, trailed closely by Claire Straetker's personal-record 2:14.58 and Madison Chao's 2:14.83.

Marissa Purdum came within six-hundreths of a second of matching her personal-best in the 100-free. Still, her mark of 53.36 earned her 13th place. Samir Almhiemid was about a half-second away from his personal-record in the men's 100-free, taking 12th in 46.74. Seth Brady blazed for 14th in 46.96.

The women's 400-free relay team of Mathus, Allison DeWane, Casey Roberts and Purdum set the third-best time in school history (3:33.50).

Over the four-day Championships, Western Illinois saw two swimmers break school records, with 11 new top-10 program times.

"Our team has always had a tradition of breaking school records and rewriting our all-time top 10 list in school history, and this year was no different," Naumann said. "The team and I will definitely miss our graduating seniors, but how those seniors have helped shape our program will never leave. We continue to grow in strength and numbers, and we will continue to carry on the Tradition of Tough."

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Players Mentioned

Amy Borgstede: Fly; Sophomore; Francis Howell

Allison DeWane: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Woodstock

Taylor Winkel: Back; Sophomore; Lincoln

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Freshman; Lisle

Marissa Purdum: Sprint Free; Freshman; Burlington Community

Kyle Siebert: Breast; Sophomore; Mundelein

Samir Almhiemid: Fly/Back; Freshman; Chelsea

Seth Brady: Sprint Free; Freshman; Valley

Drake Stierman: Fly; Freshman; Dubuque Senior

Chance McQuigg: Breast/IM; Freshman; Richwoods

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

Casey Roberts: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Naperville Central

Players Mentioned

Amy Borgstede
: Sophomore; Francis Howell
: Fly

Allison DeWane
: Sophomore; Woodstock
: Sprint Free

Taylor Winkel
: Sophomore; Lincoln
: Back

Erica Hagen
: Freshman; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Marissa Purdum
: Freshman; Burlington Community
: Sprint Free

Kyle Siebert
: Sophomore; Mundelein
: Breast

Samir Almhiemid
: Freshman; Chelsea
: Fly/Back

Seth Brady
: Freshman; Valley
: Sprint Free

Drake Stierman
: Freshman; Dubuque Senior
: Fly

Chance McQuigg
: Freshman; Richwoods
: Breast/IM

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

Casey Roberts
: Sophomore; Naperville Central
: Sprint Free