ELKHART, Ind.--The Truman Swimming teams continued their GLVC Championships with a strong day three. The men closed the gap on the teams currently ahead of them and the women have moved into the middle at fifth place.
In the 200 backstroke, Connor Neils finished 16th overall and fell just short of earning a B cut with a final time of 1:49.78. Mike Franz finished 27th and beat his seed time by over two seconds at 1:54.91.
The 200 breaststroke also saw a trio of excellent performances from the Bulldogs as Jake O'Bryan beat his seed time by over 11 seconds at 2:15.25. Austin Bell finished 29th overall with a final time of 2:08.74 and beat his seed time by nearly two seconds. Mark Franz finished 24th with a final time of 2:07.44 and Jax Mahlstadt had the best finish overall with a 2:07.55 final time.
Following the men's performance, coach Jerod Simek said, "The men finished off a very competitive championship with some outstanding swims. Our seniors finished their careers with some of their best swims off the meet. We are grateful for all they have given to the program. This leadership helped the team to multiple season best times with a lot coming from our returners next season so we are very encouraged for next season! The future is bright for the Bulldog men!"
The men finished the meet in ninth place with 348 points.
For the women, the 100 freestyle saw multiple very strong performances. Emma Brabham earned a B cut with a final time of 51.50--nearly a second under her seed time and ninth overall, Sarah Nelson finished 15th with a time of 53.06, Allison Garrett finished at 53.36 to beat her seed time and Kaitlyn McDaniel beat her seed time by over half a second with a final time of 53.47.
The 200 breast also saw Natalie Galluzzo earn a B cut and finished third overall with a final time of 2:17.62. Ginny Schranck finished fourth and earned a B cut with a final time of 2:17.76. Christina Jurotich finished 15th at 2:26.89 and beat her seed time by over five seconds.
With some very strong finishes, the Bulldogs figure to have a presence at Nationals in March.
Simek said, "The women finished out the meet with one of their best sessions! They made up points to McKendree and extended their lead on Lewis for their 5th place finish. Our seniors all swam great with some new B standards and impressive relay swims. We will miss them next season! Our focus now turns to helping some of these seniors to a great end of their careers at NCAA's in Birmingham!"
The women finished in fifth place with 757.5 total points.
Complete results can be found here.
The NCAA Championships will be in Birmingham, Ala. next month.
