Salukis earn six wins, two team top-five finishes at Butler Invite

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Oct 3

4 PM / 10 AM

Swimming & Diving

Missouri State

Oct 10

3 PM

Swimming & Diving

UIC

Oct 11

11 AM

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Northwestern/Miami (OH)

Oct 24

5 PM / 11 AM

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Illinois/Illinois State (Women)

Nov 13

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A3 Performance Invite

Nov 20

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Missouri

Jan 9

2 PM

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Purdue (Men)

Jan 10

1 PM

Swimming & Diving

Indiana State/Evansville

The Saluki men and women placed third and fourth respectively while winning six events at the ninth annual Butler Invite today.

The Saluki men tallied 494 points to edge out Mid-American Conference rival Ball State by 10 and a half points. The Saluki women scored 356 points to finish fourth ahead of host school Butler and Missouri Valley Conference foe Valparaiso.

For the men, sophomore Tamas Hajtman, junior Chris Cole and senior Michael Wolfe led the way for Southern. All three swimmers tallied wins throughout the meet.

In the men's 1,650-yard freestyle, the Salukis swept the top-three spots to rack up a total of 53 points. Cole earned the victory in the mile-long swim with a time of 15:54.52, his new fastest time of the season in the event. Wolfe was second and sophomore Kevin Kluge was third.

In the men's 500-yard freestyle, Wolfe and Cole flip-flopped their finishing positions from the 1,650-yard freestyle to lock up the top-two spots in the 500-free. Wolfe swam the race with a time of 4:37.79 and Cole swam the event with a time of 4:38.48. Junior Alex Martinez was fourth in the race.

Hajtman continued what has been a great start to his Saluki career with a win in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.39. Hajtman also swam in the 200-yard medley relay and helped his team to a fourth place finish. Hajtman, sophomore Jimmy Dooley, junior Alex Netzel and sophomore Matt Ciezczak swam the race in 1:36.70.

In the men's 200-yard individual medley, freshman Sam Drew finished second with a time of 1:56.28. He was also third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.48.

Dooley not only helped his 200-yard medley relay team to a top-five finish, but recorded his own third place finish with a time of 2:12.03 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Junior Reilly Garman finished second in the men's 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.73 for his best finish and time in the event this year.

For the women, senior Bryn Handley and juniors Jordan Ries and Jess Peck earned wins for the women.

Handley's came in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:20.53. Ries was fourth in the race.
Ries would go on to win the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.79. It was her first win and third top-five finish in the event this season.

For Peck, she earned a win in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.01, it was her first win in any event in the 2017-18 season and second top-five finish in the 100-yard breaststroke this season. Junior Abby Kresal was third with a time of 1:08.09. She was also fifth in the 500-yard freestyle, just behind her fellow Saluki, sophomore Juliana Carvalho. Carvalho, who was swimming in the 500-yard freestyle for the second time this season, swam the race in 5:13.17.

Sophomore Rita Naude was busy for the Salukis on Sunday, she swam in a total of five events and logged two top-five finishes. Her best performance was in the 100-yard butterfly in which she finished second with a time of 57.51 for her fifth top-five finish of the season in the event. She finished third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.68 for her fourth top-five finish in the event this season.

Kresal, who was third in the 100-yard backstroke, took third in the 200-yard backstroke as well with a time of 2:27.05 to tie her best finish of the season in the event.

Freshman Abbie Young turned in a couple of good swims in her events. In the 100-yard butterfly, she finished in third with a time of 58.33 and was fifth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.13 which was her personal best time in the event by more than four seconds.

The Salukis are back in action on Saturday when the women's team hosts MVC-foe Indiana State at 11 a.m. at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium.

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