SIU vs Henderson State vs Little Rock
- January 17, 2025
- Carbondale, Ill.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
- Team Scores
Courtesy: SIU Athletics
CARBONDALE, Ill. – On the first day of back-to-back meets, the Southern Illinois swimming and diving team traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas, on Friday. Both SIU squads took on Henderson State, while the women’s team also faced Little Rock. It was another successful meet for the Salukis. The men’s team downed Henderson State, 200-86, and the women’s team beat Little Rock, 214-73, and Henderson State, 233-47.
“Another very strong day of competition for the Saluki swimmers and divers in Little Rock today,” said head coach Geoff Hanson. “With two more competitions remaining for women and just one more for the men, we feel good about where we are as a team.”
Inside the Results
- There was a total of 67 podium finishes for the Salukis across the 32 events. Of those 32 events, SIU occupied all three spots of the podium seven times.
- Southern Illinois had 27 different first-place finishes throughout the competition.
- Celia Pulido, Olivia Herron, Willem Huggins, and Alex Santiago all tied for the lead in gold medals with four each.
How It Happened
The day started with the one-meter dive. Farida Moussa and Audrey Leno opened the Salukis’ day by taking second and third place, respectively. Then, on the men’s side of the one-meter dive, AJ Stone and Graham Arteta captured first and second place; Stone’s score of 219.30 is a career-best in the one-meter dive for the freshman.
Once the swimming events began, the 400-yard medley relay teams were the first ones in the pool. SIU occupied the top two spots on the women’s podium, while the men’s “A” team finished in first place and their “B” squad took third.
Next up was the 1000-yard freestyle event. Apryl Paquette won the women’s event thanks to her swim of 10:33.18. Joshua Aceves then added another gold medal to SIU’s collection after winning the men’s 1000-yard freestyle. Moving onto the 200-yard freestyle, Susanna Hernandez snagged a silver medal in the women’s race while Bea Padron finished in third, just a second behind Hernandez. Meanwhile, the men swept the 200-yard freestyle thanks to Rodrigo Ramos, Alex Cimera, and Juraj Barcot.
Another Southern Illinois sweep came in the women’s 100-yard backstroke, with Pulido, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez, and Tia Jankovics all standing on the podium. Pulido’s race of 52.94 met the NCAA’s provisional “B” standard. The men’s 100-yard backstroke was bookended with Salukis, as Huggins placed first and Alex Brodsky was third.
The top three spots in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke event belonged to SIU in the order of Herron, Madalyn Booker , and Ali Robertson, with Booker setting a new career-best after her 102.15 race. Herron’s swim of 1:00.44 also the NCAA’s “B” standard. As for the men’s 100-yard breaststroke, Henrique Pacheco Januario‘s 55.41 swim was a career-best for him and captured first-place while Benedek Andor took home third in the event.
Moving to the 200-yard butterfly event, Brooklyn Anderson set a new career-best with her first-place time of 2:04.17. Tamara De la Torre and Jules Atkinson followed up Anderson in second- and third-place, respectively. In the men’s field, Nate Worsham finished in third. The 50-yard freestyle saw plenty of Salukis on the podium too, with Masha Zhukova and Zaria Terry bookending the women’s event while Santiago and Donat Csuvarszki were first and second in the men’s pool, respectively. Santiago also reached NCAA “B” standard with his time of 19.69.
The swimmers took a brief break while the divers reentered the competition. In the three-meter dive, Leno set a new career-high with her score of 237.60 to finish first. Corrin Williams placed third in the same event. On the men’s side, Stone set another career-high while grabbing first place with his 242.25 dive. Arteta was the runner-up in the event.
Swimming events returned with the women’s 100-yard freestyle, and Hernandez and Zhukova grabbed second and third place, respectively. In the men’s 100-yard freestyle, Santiago captured another gold while Csuvarszki finished in third place.
The Salukis swept another podium in the women’s 200-yard backstroke with Pulido, Gallegos, and Jankovics. Then, Huggins won the men’s side of the 200-yard backstroke while Barcot was the runner-up.
All three spots on the women’s 200-yard breaststroke belonged to Salukis, and Herron’s first-place time of 2:13.10 met NCAA “B” standards. The men’s team saw a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke thanks to Pacheco. In the 500-yard freestyle, Ale Hoyos Horvath was the event’s runner-up while Paquette rounded out the podium. Ramos claimed first on the men’s side of the 500-yard freestyle, and Aceves finished less than a second after Ramos did to claim second place.
Two more Salukis finished in first place in the 100-yard butterfly; Padron did so on the women’s side of the event and Cimera was the men’s winner. Jasmine Rau and Hazem Aboustate also had podium finishes in the 100-yard butterfly.
The final individual event of the afternoon was the 400-yard IM. In the women’s race, three Salukis, Herron, Fernanda Sánchez, and Anderson finished first, second, and third, respectively. Then, Barcot added another podium finish to his resume by taking first and Pacheco was right behind him in second place.
The competition ended with the 200-yard freestyle relays. SIU’s women’s “A” team, made of Zaria Terry, Zhukova, Gallegos, and Pulido, was the event’s winner while the “B” team made a podium appearance as well. Finally, the men’s “A” team, featuring Aj Terry , Csuvarszki, Huggins, and Santiago, ended the day in first place, with Southern Illinois’ “B” sitting in third place.
Up Next
The Salukis have a quick turnaround as they host Eastern Illinois tomorrow afternoon for Senior Day. There will be a distance swim at 11 a.m. with the Senior Day ceremony slated for 11:45 a.m. The rest of the meet commences at 12 p.m.
Courtesy: Little Rock Athletics
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojans made a statement on Senior Day, securing a victory over in-state rivals Henderson State while also sizing up conference opponents Southern Illinois ahead of the Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Several Trojans delivered standout performances, achieving personal and season-best times in this meet. The highlight of the day came from Olivia Elgin, who shattered the school record in the 200 freestyle, clocking an impressive 1:48.34. Freshman Delaney Nickles dominated the podium in diving to claim first in the 1M.
“The ladies have been working really hard throughout the entire season and it’s paying off. We got to celebrate our amazing seniors that have helped to create this program and we will always remember them. Go Trojans!” -said Graduate Assistant Coach, Emilia Martinez.
Relays
The Trojans opened the meet with a solid third-place finish in the 400 medley relay. The team of Caitlin Romprey, Adara Stoddard, Jaelle Carlson, and Elgin clocked a time of 3:48.73 to set the tone for Little Rock.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Trojans came breathtakingly close to victory, securing second place with a time of 1:33.64—just six one-hundredths of a second behind Southern Illinois. The relay team, featuring Elgin, Gabriella O’Neil, Carlson, and Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, delivered a thrilling performance.
Freestyle
Izzy Thibodeau had a standout performance in the 1000 freestyle, finishing as the sole Trojan competitor in the event. She claimed second place with a time of 10:45.77, coming within a second of her personal best.
Elgin continued her dominance, starting with a monstrous swim in the 200 freestyle. Her time of 1:48.34 not only set a new school record but also shattered the pool record, marking a remarkable start to the day. Elgin didn’t stop there—she went on to claim first place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:58.78, the third-fastest in Little Rock Trojan history. Freshman Beatriz Comini Romero impressed in her debut, finishing fourth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:26.22.
The “Queen of Sprint Free,” Carlson, lived up to her reputation with a stellar performance in the 50 freestyle, clocking 23.52—just 0.01 seconds behind SIU’s winner—to secure second place. Fifth-year Cheryl Poulsen followed with a strong swim, taking fifth in 24.52.
Backstroke
Senior Romprey delivered a strong performance in the 100 backstroke, finishing fourth as the top Trojan with a time of 59.15. She returned later in the 200 backstroke, claiming fifth place with a time of 2:05.64. Fellow senior Olivia Henderson wrapped up her afternoon with a solid swim in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 2:12.42.
Breaststroke
Freshman Stoddard impressed in the 100 breaststroke, finishing fifth with a time of 1:05.23, while senior Pieniazkiewicz followed closely behind in sixth place, clocking a time of 1:06.17.
In the 200 breaststroke, Stoddard continued her strong showing, claiming fourth place with a time of 2:23.08. Teammates Anna Nishizaki and Gillian Boggs rounded out the event with solid swims, finishing in 2:23.40 and 2:25.14, respectively.
Butterfly
Senior Lara Alsader delivered a remarkable performance in the 200 butterfly, competing in the event for the first time and achieving an incredible personal best of 2:09.89 to secure fourth place. Freshman Brooke Cummings also had a strong showing, finishing sixth with a time of 2:13.32.
Diving
Delaney Nickles showcased her diving skills with a first-place finish in the 1M event, earning a score of 253.95. She followed up with an impressive performance in the 3M diving event, scoring 233.18 points to claim second place.
The Trojans are set to hit the road next week, taking on Tulane in New Orleans on January 25th. Be sure to follow along for all the action and excitement!
Courtesy: Henderson State Athletics
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Red Wave senior Kiara Pozvai added two national B-cuts to her resume as Henderson State’s men and women fell short in a dual meet with Little Rock and Southern Illinois on Friday.
The Red Wave women found themselves on the wrong end of 233-47 and 195-65 results against SIU and Little Rock, respectively, while the HSU men dropped their matchup with the Salukis by a score of 200-86.
Pozvai, who had already punched her ticket to the national finals with multiple A-cuts earlier in the season, received Division II B-cuts for her performances in the 100 Yard Backstroke (54.91 seconds) and the 200 Yard Freestyle (1:51.96). She was responsible for three of the day’s top 30 individual performance ratings, including a first-place finish in the 100 Yard Freestyle (50.29 seconds).
On the men’s side, Colin Candebat won the 200 Yard Butterfly with a time of 1:53.12.
Oskar Cebula (55.78 seconds in the 100 Yard Breaststroke) and Zach Ponder (9:38.26 in the 1000 Yard Freestyle) both earned performance ratings that placed them on the top 15 leaderboard for the meet.
The Red Wave will return to action in a Battle of the Ravine showdown at Ouachita Baptist on Friday, January 24. Races will begin at Waggoner Pool at 5 p.m.
