Missouri Valley Conference – Women
- Wednesday, February 19 – Saturday, February 22
- Mizzou Aquatic Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri (Central Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Missouri State (3x) (results)
- Live results (Available on MeetMobile)
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Full Results
FINAL TEAM SCORES
- Missouri State – 826.5
- Southern Illinois – 603
- Indiana State – 539.5
- Illinois State – 454
- Northern Iowa – 445
- Evansville – 272
- Little Rock – 216
- Valparaiso – 126
AWARDS
- Freshman Diver of the Year: Anna Penning, UNI
- Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Lucia Romero, Southern Illinois
- Diver of the Year: Baobao Ji, Southern Illinois
- Swimmer of the Year: Kierston Farley-Sepe, Illinois state
- Diving Coach of the Year: Chunhua Zhao, Southern Illinois
- Swimming Coach of the Year: Dave Collins, Missouri State
Missouri State won their 4th-straight Missouri Valley Conference title tonight, finishing ahead of runner-up Southern Illinois by over 200 points. Also of note, the Illinois State Redbirds narrowly overtook Northern Iowa for 4th by 9 points in the final standings.
Missouri State’s Liberty Howell made it 3-for-3 on the meet, taking the 1650 free in a time of 16:44.16, leading a 1-2-3-4 charge by the Bears. Howell was 1st, with Sam Hietpas coming in 2nd (16:52.49), Grace Beahan took 3rd with a 16:57.07, and Alex Thorson came in 4th (16:59.43). Howell also won the 200 free and 500 free earlier in the meet.
Anna Miller was another Bear who went 3-for-3 on the meet, taking the 100 free. She swam a 49.28 to dominate the field by well over a second. Miller’s title tonight was her 3rd MVC 100 free title in a row. Howell and Miller teamed up with Alex Thorson and Hannah Amelung to win the 400 free relay. Thorson (51.84), Howell (50.39), Amelung (51.68), and Miller (49.33) combined to post a 3:23.24, touching the wall first by over a second.
Missouri State Picked up one other win on the day, with Alessio Puleo swimming a 2:13.92 to narrowly beat out Northern Iowa’s Moriah Ross (2:14.23). Puleo came home in 35.29 on the last 50, compared to 35.99 for Ross, running Ross downto get her hands on the wall first.
Illinois State’s Kierston Farley-Sepe was another swimmer who completed a 3 event sweep, taking the 200 fly with a time of 1:58.82. Farley-Sepe also won the 200 Im and 400 IM earlier in the meet, breaking conference records in both. She led a 1-2 punch by the Redbirds in the 200 fly, with Haley Rivera taking 2nd with a 2:02.66. Farley-Sepe went on to be named Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts.
Northern Iowa’s Katie Taylor was dominant in the 200 back, swimming a 1:56.72 to take the title by nearly 2 seconds. That performance marked Taylor’s 3rd-straight MVC title in the 200 back. 100 back champion Lucia Romero (Southern Illinois) came in 3rd with a 1:58.65.
