2024 MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: Wednesday, February 21 – Saturday, February 24
- Location: Deaconess Aquatic Center, Evansville, IN
- Defending Champions (women): Missouri State
- Live Results
- Live Results also available via Meet Mobile: “2024 Missouri Valley Conference”
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Teams: Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Little Rock, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso, UIC
Day two of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championships has come and gone, with Missouri State building upon their 20 point lead from day one. Heading into the final two days of action, MSU has extended their lead to over 100 points, seemingly on track to defend their conference title.
The second night kicked off with the 500 freestyle, where senior Lily DeSpain grabbed a win for Missouri State. She finished in a time of 4:48.23, which cleared the field by over three seconds. Indiana State rounded out the top three with Erin Cummins (4:51.47) touching ahead of teammate Claire Parsons (4:53.46). DeSpain was 9th in the event a year ago, and clocked a best time by over three seconds in the final this year to secure a conference title.
A historic swim unfolded in the 200 IM, where Little Rock junior Gillian Boggs secured their first ever conference title. Boggs hit the wall in 2:01.16, leading a trio of 2:01 performances. Lana Janson (2:01.67) of Missouri State and Alexandria Cotter (2:01.86) of Indiana State secured 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Boggs was 21st in the event a year ago, where she finished with a time of 2:05.87.
“Tonight was all about the team,” head coach Nathan Townsend said as he spoke to the Little Rock Athletic Department about the historic win. “The way we got behind one another’s swims was truly special. The team atmosphere that we have created together is huge part of why we are finding so much success this year. We made some history tonight and we aren’t even close to being done yet – we have a realistic shot to break school records in every event tomorrow [Friday]. Can’t wait to see what happens.”
Northern Iowa’s Faith Larsen bagged a win in the 50 free, hitting the wall in 22.66. She led a trio of sub-23 second swims, as Missouri State’s Jordan Wenner (22.84) and Illinois State’s Emma Feltzer (22.95) comprised the top three. Larsen’s winning time was shy of the 22.50 she posted at this same meet last year, where she also claimed victory.
Larsen would later lead the Northern Iowa 200 free relay quartet to a win, leading them off in 22.75. Abby Lear (22.69), Waren Graeve (22.86), and Morgan Meyer (22.59) rounded out the team. Indiana State (1:31.37) hit the wall 2nd while Missouri State (1:31.50) settled for 3rd.
Illinois State junior Eva Reyes scored 286.80 points en route to the 1-meter diving title, with Farida Moussa of Southern Illinois scoring just 0.10 behind with 286.70 points. Ciara McCliment of UIC checked-in with 265.75 points for bronze medal status.
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER DAY 2
- Note: Team Scores are being displayed differently on the MVC official conference website and Meet Mobile. The scores reflected below are per the official MVC conference:
- Missouri State – 474.5 points
- Indiana State – 388.5 points
- Northern Iowa – 296 points
- Illinois State – 255.5 points
- Little Rock – 238 points
- Southern Illinois – 231.5 points
- UIC – 230 points
- Evansville – 118 points
- Valparaiso – 84 points