Over the course of the four day GLVC Swimming & Diving Championship, the men’s and women’s swim teams broke multiple Truman State University records, qualified a few swimmers for nationals and finished seventh and fourth, respectively.
The men’s team got 468.5 points, which was good enough for seventh place. The women’s team finished with a score of 914 points, which put it in fourth place by the end of the event.
The women’s team is sending its 400 medley relay team — comprised of junior Natalie Galluzzo, sophomore Emma Brabham, freshman Holly Olson and senior Kaylee Sisson — to nationals. With more national contenders being released later in the month, junior Ginny Schranck and junior Mark Franz are among those that have a good chance of being added to the list.
On day one of the GLVC championships the women finished fourth out of eight teams, while the men were ninth out of 11 teams. Galluzzo was a force to be reckoned with the first day as she finished sixth in the 200 individual medley and assisted the 200 medley relay team in securing fifth place.
The second day was an eventful one for the women’s team as it sealed its first NCAA finals bid with a B cut time in the 400 medley relay — a new school record time of 3:46:44. Brabham, Galluzzo, Olson and Sisson finished fifth in the race.
The women also had five scorers in the 100 fly — Olson, Brabham, senior Maggie Hickey, freshman Sarah Nelson and sophomore Alexis Krogman. In the 400 individual medley, senior Lauren Massot, junior Annika Hofer, Schranck, sophomore Christina Jurotich and sophomore Madison Nguyen all scored points. Finally, Galluzzo and sophomore Alexis Poe each got B cuts in the 200 freestyle.
For the men, the 400 medley relay team made up of senior Brenden Harris, Mark Franz, sophomore Mike Franz and senior Lliot Gieseke almost beat the school record with a time of 3:19:85, but were just a few seconds shy.
The women’s team held on to its fourth place position while the men moved up to eighth place by the end of the first half.
The swim teams set multiple Truman records and received multiple B cuts on the third day of competition.
For the men, sophomore Connor Neils set a new record for the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:29:87, which was good enough for 13th overall and a B cut. Mark Franz established a new record for the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54:57, which tied him for fifth and earned a B cut.
For the women, Galluzzo set the new record for 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01:16, which was good enough for second place and a B cut. Schranck also received a B cut in the 100 breaststroke coming in ninth place. Senior Megan Mensinger also earned a B cut after coming in 13th place in the 500 freestyle.
After the eventful day, the women’s team stayed in fourth place and the men’s team remained in eighth place.
On the final day of the championships, the swim teams were able to squeeze in a few more school records. Neils finished eighth in the men’s 200 backstroke, but broke Truman’s record with a time of 1:54:16. For the women, Galluzzo finished third in the 200 breaststroke and broke Truman’s record with a time of 2:14:48.
Some Bulldogs will go on to compete in the NCAA National Championships in Geneva, Ohio, March 11-14.