UNI swim and dive sweep Southern Illinois, St.Thomas in Cedar Falls

Friday, October 16

Cedar Falls, Iowa

6 p.m. / 10 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

188

163

Southern Illinois

Final Results

Photo by: cposephoto

10/17/2026 3:12:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Meet Results

Panthers defeat Southern Illinois and St.Thomas in record-filled weekend homestand.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI swimming and diving team sweep a triangular dual over the weekend in Cedar Falls, defeating Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) rival Southern Illinois by a score of 188-163, and routing St.Thomas by a score of 243-110.

Northern Iowa would pull away early against St. Thomas, quickly building a lead that would be insurmountable. The Panthers would lead early against Southern Illinois before the Salukis would make it close in the later events, even taking the lead at a point before the Panthers would pull away and secure victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The weekend's triangular dual would kick off on Friday with a bang as the Panther team of Morgan Raether, Neriah Giedrys, Nikki Walters and Averie Bilskemper would take the top spot (3:45.23) in the 400-yard medley relay, followed by the quartet of Rachel Rolow, Avery Duerr, Natalie Harris and Crystal Benjamin in fifth ( 3:57.53). Action continued with the 400-yard individual medley, which would see Aspen Cole take second (4:35.39), followed by Julia Eastman in sixth (4:40.14).

Olivia Gustafson would claim the top spot in the 200-yard freestyle, with her time of 1:52.14 would be good enough for tenth all-time in program history. Natalie Kuboushek would follow in fourth (1:55.55).

The 50-yard freestyle would follow with Charlotte Sander coming in first (23.23), followed closely by Payton Hultgren in third (23.64). Action continued with the 200-yard butterfly, which would see Sam Oeltjen claim first (2:05.21), followed by Nikki Walters in third (2:07.75)

The 100-yard backstroke would see Raether claim second (55.84). History could continue with the 100-breaststroke as Giedrys would top the leaderboard (1:02.43) and claim third on the all-time list for the event, she would be followed by Cole in third (1:05.50). The 1,000-yard freestyle would see another top ten time be claimed as Oeltjen's fourth place finish (10:33.98) was good enough for tenth all time. In the last event of the evening, the team of Sander, Raether, Hultgren, and Bilskemper would claim yet another spot in the record books, claiming seventh all time in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.94.

Action continued Saturday with the 200-yard medley relay that saw the grouping of Raether, Giedrys, Walters, and Sander claim the top spot (1:42.19), followed by the team of Rolow, Duerr, Hultgren, and Bilskemper in fifth ( 1:46.90). The 500-yard freestyle would see Oeltjen take sixth (5:10.55). Giedrys would glide into the second spot (2:22.03) in the 200-yard breaststroke, followed by Cole in sixth (2:23.51).

The record book would continue to change in the 200-yard backstroke as Raether would claim first place in the event and third all-time for UNI swimmers (1:59.10), she would be followed by Rolow in fifth (2:05.51). The 100-yard freestyle would see the duo of Gustafson and Sander claim the third (51.20) and fourth(51.40) spots, respectively. Action continued with the 100-yard butterfly, which saw Walters (56.37) and Hultgren (56.43) take the top two spots, with Hultgren's time being good enough to claim her spot in the top ten all time in the event in ninth.

The 200-yard individual medley would see Harris take sixth (2:10.94). The final event of the day was the 400-yard freestyle relay, which saw the quartet of Raether, Gustafson, Bilskemper, and Sander take first place at 3:25.48, followed by the group of Hultgren, Crystal Benjamin, Chole Magnuson, and Kuboushek in fifth (3:34.02).

In the diving well, Avery Hogan would take the top spot in one-meter competition with a score of 246.40, followed by Trista Thompson in third (238.25) and Camryn Russell in fourth (223.40). The three-meter would see Thompson finish second with a score of 271.50, which is good enough for seventh all time in the event for the Panthers.

UP NEXT

The Panthers return to the pool, Oct. 30-31 at the Coyote Extravaganza at the USD Wellness Center in Vermillion, South Dakota. Live results will be made available on the Meet Mobile app (swimming) and Dive Meets (diving).

UNI swimming and diving action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Swimming and Diving), X (@uniswimdive) and on Instagram (@uniswimdive). Schedules and rosters, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.