2025 Women’s Missouri Valley Conference Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 26–Saturday, March 1
- Location: Waukee CSD Natatorium, Waukee, IA
- Defending Champions: Missouri State women (7x)
- Live Results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
- Teams: Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Little Rock, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso, UIC
- RESULTS: COMPLETE RESULTS
- RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
TEAM SCORES (FINAL)
- Indiana State – 1440.5
- Southern Illinois – 1331
- Missouri State – 1034
- Northern Iowa – 929.5
- UIC – 875.5
- Little Rock – 791
- Illinois State – 738
- Evansville – 253
- Valparaiso – 226.5
AWARDS
- Swimmer of the Year – Celia Pulido, Southern Illinois
- Diver of the Year – Jecza Lopez, Indiana State
- Freshman Swimmer of the Year – Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez, Southern Illinois
- Freshman Diver of the Year – Delaney Nickles, Little Rock
- Swimming Coach of the Year – Josh Christensen, Indiana State
- Co-Diving Coach of the Year – Teresa Hall, Indiana State
- Co-Diving Coach of the Year – Bethany Hovland, UNI
- Elite 18 – Faith Larsen, UNI
The 2025 Women’s MVC Championships are in the books, seeing Indiana State win their first team title in program history. After a back and forth battle all weekend with Southern Illinois, the Sycamores emerged victorious by a little over 100 points.
Indiana State closed out the meet with a victory, taking the 400 free relay in 3:18.99. Chloe Farro (49.76), Kaleigh Kelley (49.68), Sahara Visscher (49.62), and Alexa Szadorski (49.88) teamed up to earn the win. Their performance set a new Indiana State program record, and nearly took down the conference record of 3:18.70, which Southern Illinois set last year.
The Sycamores also saw Claire Parsons win the 1650 free with a 16:39.68, as teammate Maria Saldana Riebeling taking 2nd in 16:47.69. In some great news for Indiana State, Parsons is a sophomore and Riebeling a freshman, so they’ll have a great distance duo for a few more years.
Southern Illinois’ Celia Pulido, who won Swimmer of the Year, took the 200 back in 1:54.78, winning the race by well over a second. It was enough to win the race, but Pulido was off her own conference record of 1:52.31, which she set at last year’s NCAAs. She was also a bit off her own championship record of 1:53.80, set in the fall.
SIU’s Olivia Herron also earned a win, taking the 200 breast in 2:10.11. With the performance, she blew away her own championship record of 2:11.47, which she had set in prelims. Herron was, however, off her own conference record of 2:09.13, which she set back in the fall.
UIC picked up a win in the 200 fly, where Samantha Wilson swam a 1:59.24. She was the only swimmer in the field to crack 2:00, winning the race by over a second.
Northern Iowa’s Faith Larsen put up a win in the 100 free, clocking a 49.28. It was a tight finish, as she beat out runner-up Jaelle Carlson (Little Rock) by 0.08 seconds.
As tight a battle as it was, they were set for the win placing 5 in the A final of the 200 butterfly – that’s just too much to overcome. Would love to see a rundown of the MVC records now as it seems Pulido and Herron own the majority of them.
Congrats, Josh. You keep pressing forward and making a better experience for your athletes.