Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium | Southern Illinois University Athletics
Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium | Southern Illinois University Athletics
The Southern Illinois men's swimming and diving team concluded their participation in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championship with a third-place finish, amassing 657.5 points.
Head coach Geoff Hanson expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance: "It was a great week for the Saluki Men. This team came together over the season to accomplish many of our final goals. Multiple conference and school records, conference champions individuals and relays, and awards for Outstanding Freshman Swimmer and Most Outstanding Swimmer were all highlights of the meet. Our seniors will be greatly missed and we wish them the very best!"
During the preliminary session on the final day, Jered Moore secured first place in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:42.56. Alex Santiago followed with a first-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle at 42.87 seconds. Jack Khrypunov also claimed victory in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing at 1:44.68.
In distance events, Ian Marshall was the top Saluki finisher in the 1650-yard freestyle, placing eighth with a time of 15:51.44.
In finals action, Jered Moore repeated his success in the 200-yard backstroke by finishing first once more.
Alex Santiago set new MAC, program, and pool records in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 42.42 seconds during his first-place finish. Coach Hanson praised Santiago's journey from an unrecruited walk-on to becoming "a likely NCAA qualifier and MAC Most Outstanding Swimmer." He added that Santiago's dedication to both sport and team is exceptional.
Jack Khrypunov continued his impressive performance by setting another MAC record while winning first place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:43.16.
The championship concluded with AJ Terry, Donat Csuvarszki, Jered Moore, and Alex Santiago taking first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay at a time of 2:53.16.
Among individual accolades awarded during this championship were Alex Santiago receiving Most Outstanding Swimmer Award while Benedek Andor earned Most Outstanding Freshman Award recognition; these achievements contributed significantly towards earning All-MAC First Team honors alongside Jack Khrypunov & Jered Moore as well as second-team acknowledgments for Donat Csuvarszki & Nicolas Lanuza
For further updates on Southern Illinois' swim/dive programs across social media platforms including Twitter (@SIU_SwimDive), Instagram (@SIU_SwimDive), or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SIUSwimDive
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