MVC Championships: Day One Finals

02/17/2016 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving

Feb. 17, 2016

By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The MVC Swimming and Diving Championships opened in record-breaking fashion for the Salukis as SIU came away with program best finishes and an MVC title on Wednesday night.

"They're having fun, they're loose, they're light, and that's what we practiced. It's so nice to watch it actually come to fruition where everything you practiced, they're actually doing," SIU head coach Rick Walker said.

SIU came away from the night earning the MVC Champion title in the 800-yard freestyle relay for the second consecutive year. SIU's 7:16.60 finish broke the SIU, MVC and Shea Natatorium records that the same team – Kelsie Walker, Lauren Stockton, Helena Amorim and Bryn Handley – broke at last year's MVC Championships.

Heading into the 800-yard freestyle relay, SIU held the MVC Championship record set last year at 7:18.77.

"We swam the exact same order as last year's relay and finished two seconds faster. Those guys work so hard and they reaped the reward on that one," Walker said.

Kelsie Walker swam the lead-off leg of the 800 Free Relay, putting the Salukis in first place with a 1:49.21 200-yard split. The Salukis led at the halfway mark of the race, hitting the 400-yard mark at 3:38.38. Missouri State caught SIU in the third leg, taking the lead for a moment before sophomore Bryn Handley finished with a monster comeback, leading the Salukis to a 7:16.60 victory. SIU topped Missouri State by four seconds as the Bears came in second at 7:20.97.

"Bryn is not the one you want to go up against on the end of a relay, which is why we put her there. She is awesome, as you can see," Walker said. "Getting ahead wasn't enough for her. The further she went, it just still wasn't enough, and she would tell you, ‘I thought I could get more.'"

Earlier in the night, the championships opened with the 200-yard Medley Relay, with Sarah James, Liane Tatigian, Emma Brazeau and McKenna Avery representing the Salukis in the A Final. James started the Salukis off with her fastest 50-yard backstroke lead-off leg this season, finishing in 26.18. SIU followed James' lead coming in at 1:43.01 to finish in third place behind Northern Iowa in first and Missouri State in second. SIU's 1:43.01 finish broke a more than 20-year-old SIU program record, previously set in 1985 at 1:43.47.

In the B Final, SIU's team of Katy Ovington, Riley Schroedter, Kristian Ksarjian and Chandler Ott took the top spot coming in at 1:45.39 for seventh place overall. Kiley Handley, Rachel Hauer, Mikaela Montgomery and Penny Bowser swam in the C Final coming in at 1:50.81. "They are so ready to go, and it's very clear," Walker said. "Historically we do nothing but get better throughout the meet because we prepare not to end on the first day but to peak on the last day, so we're good all the way through. It's times like this where I just breathe a sigh of relief and go ‘Ok, we're here.'"

Day two of the MVC Championships begins on Thursday morning at 11 a.m., starting with the 500-yard freestyle prelim. Thursday will feature the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, one-meter dive and 200 free relay. Event results will be posted on SIU's Championship Central page in real-time, along with photo galleries and complete results at the conclusion of the day. Follow along with @SIU_SwimDive on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.