2024 GLVC Championships: Drury Women Extend Record with 8th-Straight Team Title

2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 6 – Saturday, February 10
• Location: Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, IN
• Defending Champions: Drury men (1x), UIndy women (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: GLVC Sports Network
• Championship Central
• COMPLETE RESULTS

TEAM SCORES

MEN

1. UIndy – 1512.5
2. McKendree – 1499.5
3. Drury – 1490
4. Lewis – 1048
5. Missouri Univ of Science and Technology – 1000
6. University of Missouri-St. Louis – 643
7. Rockhurst – 448
8. Quincy – 390
9. William Jewell – 342
10. Truman State – 276
11. Maryville – 164

WOMEN

1. Drury – 1867
2. UIndy – 1792
3. McKendree – 1125
4. Lewis – 945
5. University of Missouri-St. Louis – 865
6. Truman State – 744
7. William Jewell – 559
8. Rockhurst – 434
9. Quincy – 280
10. Maryville – 171

The 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference Swimming & Diving Championships took place this past weekend at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana. Drury won their 8th-straight women’s team title, extending their record win-streak in the conference. Drury has won 8 of the 11 GLVC team titles since the conference began sponsoring swimming and diving. Meanwhile, UIndy won their 5th-straight men’s team title, winning a very tight battle with McKendree and Drury, both of which were within 23 points of UIndy.

UIndy’s Cedric Buessing won the Men’s Swimmer of the Year award for his efforts throughout the meet. Buessing was not only a winner, but a record breaker as well. He kicked things off individually with a win in the men’s 1000 free, swimming an 8:57.18, clipping the GLVC record of 8:57.35, which was set by former McKendree star Fabio Dalu back at the 2021 championship.

Buessing would then go on to win the men’s 400 IM in a huge swim, clocking a 3:43.78. It was a phenomenal performance for the junior, who broke his own conference record of 3:46.16 with the swim. He was particularly strong on the freestyle leg at the end, coming home in a blistering 52.64. He was also very solid on backstroke, splitting 56.05 on that 100.

Continuing his hot streak, Buessing then went on to win the 500 free decisively with a 4:18.84, once again breaking his own GLVC record. With the swim, Buessing took the record down under 4:20 for the first time. He swam a very well-paced race, going 2:08.51 on the first 250 yards, then coming home in 2:10.33.

Buessing would also go on to win the men’s 1650 free on the last day of the meet, clocking a 15:10.28. While that was still an excellent swim for him, it was the one individual race of his where he didn’t break the GLVC record. He wasn’t all that close either, as Fabio Dalu set the GLVC record in the mile back in 2021 with a blistering 14:55.42.

Buessing also had an impact on relays. He helped the UIndy squad to victory and yet another GLVC record in the men’s 400 medley relay, providing a 47.26 lead-off leg. Behind Buessing, Brayden Cole clocked a 52.33 on the breast leg, Oskar Sawicki was 46.50 on fly, and Joao Silva was 42.97 on the free leg. The quartet combined for a 3:09.06, taking down the record of 3:09.61, which Drury had set last year.

On the women’s side, Drury junior Mellie Wijk earned Swimmer of the Year honors. Wijk didn’t break the number of records, Buessing did in the men’s events, however, she did win 3 individual events and help 3 Drury relays to victory as well.

Wijk swept the women’s fly events, first taking the 100 fly in 53.84. She established the early lead with a 24.96 in the opening 50, then managed to hold her lead through the back half. Later in the meet, Mijk then took the 200 fly in 1:58.13, finishing as the only swimmer under 2:00.

Wijk also took the women’s 200 IM, swimming a 1:59.90 after clocking a 1:59.81 in prelims. She was excellent on the front half of the race, splitting 25.83 on fly and 30.35 on breast. Additionally, she took 2nd in the women’s 200 breast, clocking a 2:14.09. It was UIndy’s Celina Schmidt who won the event, swimming a 2:13.22.

Wijk’s meet began when she helped the Drury women’s 800 free relay to a new GLVC record. Ellie Walker (1:50.03), Ashlyn Moore (1:49.71), Wijk (1:48.11), and Josie Bushell (1:49.07) combined for a 7:16.92, blowing away the previous record of 7:19.25, which the exact same Drury team established at last year’s meet.

Another GLVC record fell in the men’s 3-meter diving final, where UIndy’s Julio Osuna racked up a huge score of 682.65 points. With the performance, he absolutely shattered the record of 614.00, which was set just last year.

UIndy cracked a relay record in the men’s 200 medley relay, swimming a 1:24.90. Jeron Thompson (21.68), Brayden Cole (23.59), Oskar Sawicki (20.24), and Aqeel Joseph (19.39) teamed up to blow away the previous record of 1:25.53, which McKendree set in 2022.