EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drury University women's squad and University of Indianapolis men's team stayed atop the standings after the third day of the 2024 GLVC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.
The Panthers (962 points) posted a solid performance on the women's side, moving from a 78-point lead after day two to a 98-point edge. The UIndy men (785) gave themselves a good cushion entering the fourth day, growing their advantage from seven to 50 points.
For the women, Indianapolis (864) put up 429 points today to remain in second place and further distance itself from third-place McKendree University (564). Staying in fourth was Lewis University with 430 points, while University of Missouri-St. Louis (428) remained in fifth, and Truman State University (350) held its spot in sixth. William Jewell College (261) remained in the No. 7 spot, while Rockhurst University (223) moved up one place to eighth. Quincy University (133) and Maryville University (78) rounded out the field at No. 9 and No. 10.
On the men's side, McKendree (735) leaped in front of Drury (711) for second place, outscoring the Panthers by 64 points today. Lewis (481), Missouri S&T (446), and Missouri-St. Louis (331) remained in fourth and sixth, respectively. Quincy (270), Rockhurst (206), William Jewell (163), Truman State (155), and Maryville (80) round out the 11-team standings.
There were nine GLVC champions crowned Thursday, with two of those winners setting new league standards.
The medal ceremonies began with an afternoon of diving that saw UIndy's Alexis Lumaj dive for gold with 460.55 points on the women's 3-Meter board. McKendree's Andrea Menard-Cordoba claimed silver with 431.90 points, while Greyhound freshman Daeges Morgan (347.25) rounded out the podium in third. Both Lumaj and Menard-Cordoba reached NCAA A-cut with their scores.
The evening swimming finals started with the women's 100 Butterfly that saw Drury's Mellie Wijk (53.84) secure gold. Greyhounds' Stefanie Markwardt (54.67) claimed silver, while McKendree's Helena Kurtz (55.70) followed to garner bronze. All three women achieved D-II B-cuts. Bearcat sophomore Jack Lustig (46.68) brought home gold in the men's edition, while UIndy freshmen Elias Noe (47.05) snagged silver. Panthers' Alejandro Villarejo (47.13) collected bronze, earning B-cut status with his fellow podium finishers.
In the 400 Individual Medley, Drury's Claire Conover (4:16:74) captured the top spot to reach NCAA A-cut, before Greyhound junior Cedric Buessing won gold at 3:43.78 in the men's race, breaking his own Conference record by over two seconds and securing an A-cut. UIndy junior Andrea Gomez Espinosa claimed both silver and A-cut status with a 4:17.62, while Drury freshman Mafe Fe Munoz (4:22.25) finished with bronze. Miners' sophomore Connor Bichsel and UIndy's Silas Buessing finished second and third, both earning B-cuts.
Next came the 200 Freestyle, which saw Drury's Josie Bushell (1:49.49) beat out teammate Ellie Walker (1:50.01) by .52 seconds to earn gold, while Walker claimed silver. McKendree freshman Jocelyn Zgola (1:50.76) secured the final spot on the podium. McKendree's Alireza Yavari placed first (1:36.11) on the men's side and was joined by teammate Leo Gandaria-Hernandez (1:36.90) on the podium, who finished in third. Panther freshman Yuri Cabral (1:36.82) split the two to pick up the silver medal. All six competitors met the B-cut mark for the event.
Wrapping things up for the night was the 400 Medley Relay in which Drury (3:39.03) took gold in the women's race and the UIndy men broke the Conference record by .55 seconds (3:09.06). The UIndy women (3:41.30) and Drury men (3:09.42) settled for second place, while the UMSL women (3:44.51) and McKendree men (3:10:00) rounded out the respective podiums. All three women's teams and the top-five men's teams reached NCAA Provisional standards.
All first- and second-place finishers are awarded first- and second-team All-GLVC honors, respectively.
Day four of the GLVC Championships begins Friday with preliminaries of the 500 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke, and 200 Butterfly, beginning at 10 AM CT. The men's 3-meter Diving prelims are set to begin at 1 PM CT followed by the finals starting at 5:30 PM.
Complete results and additional information on the 2024 GLVC Swimming & Diving Championships can found at
GLVCsports.com/2024swim. Live coverage is available on all GLVCSN platforms, including GLVCSN.com, GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. An all-session pass is available for purchase, while single-day passes are available for $20 per day. Fans can also stay up to date on Championship coverage on Twitter/X by following the league's official accounts at @GLVCsports and @GLVCSN, as well as the hashtags #GLVCswim and #GLVCchamps. Additional coverage will be provided from @glvcsports on Instagram.