University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Larsen repeats as MVC 50-yard freestyle champion, Panthers set new Valley relay record
2/22/2024 10:43:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
UNI surges into third-place after the second day of the MVC Championships.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — UNI sprinter Faith Larsen etched her name into the UNI history books while the Panthers' 200-yard freestyle relay team shattered the record books on Thursday during the second day of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Swimming and Diving Championships at the Deaconess Aquatic Center.
Larsen, who posted the conference's top time in the 50-yard freestyle all season long, clinched her second straight MVC crown in the event, clocking a time of 22.61 seconds and narrowly edging out Missouri State's Jordan Wenner by 0.18 seconds. The victory marks the first time a Panther sprinter has won back-to-back conference titles in the 50-yard freestyle since Molly Lembezeder claimed the gold in 2016 and 2017.
In addition to Larsen's individual win, four other Panthers clocked career-best times in the 50-yard freestyle, moving up the program's all-time list. Abby Lear swam a 23.20, with Waren Graeve finishing in 23.31, Clare Christensen recording a 23.46 and Morgan Meyer swimming a 23.53.
UNI's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Larsen, Lear, Graeve and Meyer also made history on Thursday by clinching the conference title in the event in 1:30.89, setting a new school, conference and MVC Championship meet record in the process. The Panthers broke the previous MVC and meet record by three-tenths of a second, held by Missouri State since 2022.
Additional performances from Thursday included a 19th place finish by Olivia Chambers in the 500-yard freestyle, with Amber Finke finishing in tenth (2:03.21) and Ema Lavigne in 17th (2:05.69) in the 200-yard individual medley. Sydney Aird also recorded a career-best time of 2:05.69 in the 200-yard individual medley, with Meghan Pallett also moving up the program's all-time leaderboard in the event with a 2:05.87.
In the one-meter springboard competition, freshman Trista Thompson led the way for the Panthers, finishing in sixth place with a score of 247.90. Erica Peters also qualified for the A-final and finished in eight (241.15), while Abby Hutchins place 14th in the B-final (227.35).
Day three of the MVC Championships begin on Friday with the 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 400-yard medley relay and three-meter diving prelims and consolation rounds. Preliminary heats will begin at 10:30 a.m. CT with finals to follow at 6 p.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet can be found on YouTube, Meet Mobile (swimming results) and Dive Meets (diving results).
TEAM SCORES (Thru Day Two)
- 1st - Missouri State (500.5)
- 2nd - Indiana State (397.5)
- 3rd - UNI (285)
- 4th - Little Rock (270)
- 5th - Illinois State (254.5)
- 6th - Southern Illinois (237.5)
- 7th - UIC (202)
- 8th - Evansville (137)
- 9th - Valparaiso (124)
Players Mentioned
