Southern Illinois University
SIU Invitational
Salukis claim SIU Invite titles, Cernek breaks 200-back school record
11/16/2019 | 10:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois swimming and diving program concluded the SIU Invitational with team titles and a 14-year old school record broken by Adam Cernek on Saturday afternoon inside Shea Natatorium. Evansville finished second on both sides, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater in third.
EVENT WINS
*Women's team
Sierra Forbord
• 100-free (51.03)
Juliana Carvalho
• 200-back (2:01.11)
Samantha Parsons
• 200-breast (2:18.21)
Payton Parman
• 200-fly (2:04.53)
Eden Girloanta
• 1650-free (17:04.47)
Beibei Ji
• Three-meter dive (356.55)
*Men's team
Zheng Yang Yeap
• 100-free (45.64)
Adam Cernek
• 200-back (1:45.02) - NCAA B-cut
Chris Phillips
• 200-breast (2:01.34)
Uriel Tejeda
• 200-fly (1:51.08)
Kevin Kluge
• 1650-free (15:51.30)
MEET HIGHLIGHTS
*Women's team
The Saluki women swept individual finals events on the final day of the SIU Invite. Six different Salukis tabbed first-place nods.
Eden Girloanta swam away to a 16-second win in the 1650-yard freestyle to open the evening session. Her mark of 17:04.47 was just two seconds shy of a career-best.
SIU recorded a one-two finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Juliana Carvalho placed first with a career-best time of 2:01.11, while Deven Speed was second at 2:03.53.
Sierra Forbord completed the freestyle trifecta, as she took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time 51.03 — .74 seconds shy of the school record. On days one and two of the SIU Invite, Forbord won the 50- and 200-yard freestyle events.
The Salukis took the top three spots in the 200-yard breaststroke. Samantha Parsons led the charge with a first-place finish timed at 2:18.21. Laura Carver placed second (2:18.57) and Sarah Vogt was third (2:20.81) in the race.
Payton Parman impressed in the 200-yard butterfly with a winning mark of 2:04.53.
On the boards, Beibei Ji won the three-meter dive with a career-best score of 356.55. Baobao Ji finished runner-up at 330.14.
*Men's team
Adam Cernek highlighted Day Three for the men's team with a career performance in the 200-back. The freshman raced to a school-record and NCAA B-cut time of 1:45.02 in the event, which bested Marcelo Possato's mark of 1:45.16 set during the 2004-05 season. It was the second school record set by a Saluki on the weekend. Laura Carver of the women's team broke the 200 individual medley record on Day One of the invite.
Kevin Kluge racked a top finish in the 1650-free with a time of 15:51.30. He was followed by Sam Flessner in second (16:19.59) and Michael Stern in fourth (16:51.41).
Zheng Yang Yeap sprinted to a winning time of 45.64 in the 100-free. Tamas Hajtman (45.85) finished runner-up by a mere .21 seconds
Southern had a strong showing in the 200-breast, as they tallied first through fourth place. Chris Phillips was in front with a mark of 2:01.34. He was followed by Jimmy Dooley in second (2:03.75), Drake Manuello in third (2:04.22) and Sam Flessner in fourth (2:06.72).
Uriel Tejeda Barajas closed individual competition with a victory in the 200-fly (1:51.08) — his first as a Saluki. Max Ransom placed second to Tejeda with a time of 1:51.08.
NEXT UP
The SIU Invite marked the final team event of 2019. Select swimmers will compete in the U.S. Open Championships from Dec. 4-7 in Atlanta, Ga. The Salukis will commence the 2020 season on Jan. 18 in a tri-meet against Little Rock and Henderson State.
Players Mentioned
