Press Release courtesy of Minnesota State Mankato Athletics
It came down to the final event Saturday evening at the NSIC Championships, but it was #17 Minnesota State that was able to come away with its first NSIC Championship in program history.
MSU won its conference title as it recorded 973 points. St. Cloud State finished in second place with 952.5 points, while Sioux Falls finished in third with 581 points.
Heading into the final event (400-yard freestyle relay), MSU held a 10.5 point lead over the Huskies. MSU’s two relay teams were both able to clock top-five finishes in the event to lock down the conference title for the Mavericks. The team of senior Chelsea Calhoon, senior Cecilia Hake, sophomore Maggie Knier and senior Taylor Bass won the event with a time of 3:25.23, while the squad of freshman Emelia Selky, sophomore Rylie Parman, sophomore Kirsten Siebenga and senior Kylie Gaeth finished in fifth place with a time of 3:33.45.
Freshman Lily Borgenheimer won her first individual event of the NSIC Championships as she posted a time of 2:17.68 in the 200-yard breaststroke. Junior Alycia Holwerda turned in a third place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:21.71 as well.
Calhoon earned all-conference honors in the 200-yard backstroke as she finished second with a time of 2:00.83. Bass just missed all-conference honors in the event as she finished fourth with a time of 2:02.05.
In the 3-meter diving event, junior Hannah Guy finished in sixth place with a score of 383.95, while her teammate freshman Amanda Hernesman finished seventh with a score of 377.00.
Hake posted a fourth place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (51.87), while freshman Emily Bollendorf finished sixth in the 100-yard IM (1:01.15). Selky posted MSU’s best finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle as she took sixth place with a time of 18:00.54.
Head Coach Nathan Owens was named the NSIC Coach of the Year.
The field for the NCAA Championships will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 25.
All-NSIC Honors (Top-3 for individual events/Top-2 for relay events)
Taylor Bass – 200-yard IM (1st), 100-yard butterfly (1st), 200-yard butterfly (1st), 800-yard freestyle relay (1st), 400-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Emily Bollendorf – 400-yard medley relay (1st), 200-yard butterfly (3rd)
Lily Borgenheimer – 200-yard medley relay (2nd), 400-yard medley relay (1st), 100-yard breaststroke (2nd), 200-yard breaststroke (1st)
Chelsea Calhoon – 200-yard IM (2nd), 400-yard medley relay (1st), 200-yard freestyle (3rd), 800-yard freestyle relay (1st), 200-yard backstroke (2nd), 400-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Kylie Gaeth – 200-yard medley relay (2nd), 100-yard butterfly (3rd)
Cecilia Hake – 50-yard freestyle (2nd), 200-yard medley relay (2nd), 400-yard medley relay (1st), 100-yard backstroke (3rd), 400-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Alycia Holwerda – 200-yard breaststroke (3rd)
Maggie Knier – 200-yard medley relay (2nd), 400-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Rylie Parman – 800-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Emelia Selky – 800-yard freestyle relay (1st)
Josie Sticha – 100-yard breaststroke (1st)
