School Records Continue To Fall On Day 2 of the A3 Performance Invite

A3 Performance Invitational

• November 10 – 13, 2022
• Shea Natatorium – Carbondale, IL
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Results: “2022 A3 Performance Invitational” on MeetMobile

After hitting the ground running on the first day of the mid-season invite, swimmers continued to drop fast times on day 2 of the A3 Invitational. SIU still leads the way by a significant margin — 603 points on the women’s side and 308 on the men’s — but Evansville, Eastern Illinois, and Bellarmine are also swimming well.

SIU won 10 out of 12 events on day 1, and matched that again on day 2. After blazing a 1:17.98 in the men’s 200 free relay for the third-fastest time in the NCAA and a new school record on day 1, the highlight for the Salukis’ was the men’s 200 medley setting another school record. Ruard Van Renen, Brandon Michna, Jack Khrypunov, and Donat Csuvarszki blazed to a 1:27.06, beating runners up University of Evansville by three seconds. Csuvarski backed up his 18.95 anchor from the 200 free relay with a 19.03 anchor here.

Later, Van Renen won the men’s 100 back in 46.27, lowering his school record which had previously stood at 46.51. That’s an NCAA ‘B’ cut for Van Renen, and stands up as the fifth-fastest time in the NCAA, ahead of Nate Stoffle‘s 46.38. Celia Pulido won the women’s 100 back for the Salukis in another ‘B’ cut time. She swam 52.51, which is just off the lifetime best 52.46 she swam at this meet last year.

Though SIU won the majority of the events, University of Evansville had a successful day of their own, breaking four school records. Senior Maya Cunningham got things started right away, breaking the school record in the 400 IM for the second time that day. She clocked 4:25.09, undercutting the 4:25.55 she swam in prelims. She came into the meet with a lifetime best of 4:26.77, which she swam to place third at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

Three events later, Daniel Santos Lopez lowered his 100 fly school record. He blasted 48.00, taking .29 seconds off his record to finish second in the event behind Khrypunov. Iryna Tsesiul finished second in the women’s 100 back, breaking the school record for the second time in as many days. She clocked 55.05, taking .42 seconds off the record she set leading off the 400 medley relay on day 1.

The Purple Aces took their first pool win of the day in the women’s 200 free, where Sonsoles Aguayo Munoz earned the win in 1:52.49, just .05 seconds ahead of teammate Sarah Jahns. It was a tight race, as Munoz and Jahns held off SIU’s Eden Girolanta, who charged home in 28.54. Girolanta took third in 1:52.63, making it just .14 seconds that separated the top three women.

Their other win in the session came from Alon Baer in the men’s 100 breast. The University of Evansville dominated the event, putting five men into the ‘A’ final. It was Baer who took the win in 55.08, while his teammates went 3-4-6-8. Baer owns a lifetime best of 54.11 from last season’s conference championships, so this was a solid mid-season swim for him. It’s an improvement on his time from this meet last year as well, when he went 55.77.

Other Event Winners

• Karen Rodriguez Cardenas won the women’s 400 IM in 4:22.32, comfortably ahead of Cunningham’s school record performance for the Purple Aces.
• Sophomore Selim Hassan won the men’s 400 IM by an even bigger margin, posting 3:53.54 to win ahead of teammate Ian Marshall, who took second in 3:59.69.
• The Salukis went 1-2 in the women’s 100 fly. Jasmine Rau touched in 56.33 for the win, about half a second ahead of Jules Atkinson.
• In the men’s 200 free, the Salukis went 1-4, with William Chavez posting 1:39.19 for the win. Earlier in the meet, he went 1:40.13 leading off the men’s 800 free relay.
• Olivia Herron won the 100 breast in 1:02.33, .77 seconds shy of an NCAA ‘B’ cut. It’s a massive best time for the British freshmen, who is in her first yards season. Her previous best stood at 1:04.16 from SIU’s dual with McKendree. Corinne Staneart finished 7th in 1:05.46, an EIU school record. It’s another positive sign for the program, which is in its first year under head coach Johnathan Jordan. 

Scores Thru Day 2

Women

1. SIU – 957.5
2. Evansville – 354.5
3. Eastern Illinois – 292
4. Bellarmine – 214
5. Southern Indiana – 164
6. Valparaiso – 136

Men

1. SIU – 736
2. Evansville – 428
3. Bellarmine – 345
4. Eastern Illinois – 201
5. Southern Indiana – 194
6. Valparaiso – 164