
Salukis in second, Romero breaks conference record on Day three at MVC's
02/21/2020 | 10:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Lucia Romero's dominance continued on Day three at the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Championships, as she broke the conference record in the 100-yard backstroke. The Salukis sit second in the standings with 392 points and trail defending conference champion Missouri State by 154.5 points.
Romero broke the conference record twice on Day three. The Zaragoza, Spain native first broke it in the preliminaries with a time of 53.89. She improved her time by almost a half second in the finals with a lifetime best of 53.41. The conference record was last set by Sydney Zupan of Missouri State in 2017.
Romero teamed up with Sarah Vogt, Rita Naude and Sierra Forbord in the 400-yard medley relay, which placed first with a school-record time of 3:41.84. The time bested the previous record of 3:45.31 set in 2017. SIU has set a school record in each of its three relay events at the MVC Championships. Romero and Forbord have competed in each relay, while Naude and Vogt have swam in two of the three.
In addition to Romero's success, five Salukis tallied a top-five finish in A-finals competition.
Naude placed second overall in the 100-yard butterfly with a career-best time of 54.78. Forbord swam to a runner-up mark in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.18). In the 400-yard individual medley, Laura Carver was third (4:21.25) and Payton Parman was fifth (4:26.43). Vogt rounded out the top finishers with a fourth-place mark in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.97).
SIU also had five swimmers record a top-three finish in B-finals competition.
Mariana Sanchez highlighted the B-finals for Southern with a win in the 400-IM (4:28.97). A trio of Salukis in Abigail Young (100-fly // 55.96), Eden Girloanta (200-free // 1:52.69) and Deven Speed (100-back // 56.30) finished runner-up in one event. Samantha Parsons took third in the 100-breast B-final with a time of 1:04.46.
SIU will be back in action tomorrow for Day four, the final day at the MVC Championships, which will feature seven finals events. Preliminary events will begin at 11 a.m, followed by finals events at 5 p.m.
Along with following the MVC Championship Central page, follow @SIU_SwimDive on twitter, @SIUSwimandDive on Instagram and Saluki Swimming and Diving on Facebook for the latest updates on the Salukis.
Day 3 Standings
Missouri State - 546.50
Southern Illinois - 392
Indiana State - 362.5
Northern Iowa - 322
Illinois State - 295
Evansville - 166
Little Rock - 128
Valparaiso - 105
Romero broke the conference record twice on Day three. The Zaragoza, Spain native first broke it in the preliminaries with a time of 53.89. She improved her time by almost a half second in the finals with a lifetime best of 53.41. The conference record was last set by Sydney Zupan of Missouri State in 2017.
Romero teamed up with Sarah Vogt, Rita Naude and Sierra Forbord in the 400-yard medley relay, which placed first with a school-record time of 3:41.84. The time bested the previous record of 3:45.31 set in 2017. SIU has set a school record in each of its three relay events at the MVC Championships. Romero and Forbord have competed in each relay, while Naude and Vogt have swam in two of the three.
In addition to Romero's success, five Salukis tallied a top-five finish in A-finals competition.
Naude placed second overall in the 100-yard butterfly with a career-best time of 54.78. Forbord swam to a runner-up mark in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.18). In the 400-yard individual medley, Laura Carver was third (4:21.25) and Payton Parman was fifth (4:26.43). Vogt rounded out the top finishers with a fourth-place mark in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.97).
SIU also had five swimmers record a top-three finish in B-finals competition.
Mariana Sanchez highlighted the B-finals for Southern with a win in the 400-IM (4:28.97). A trio of Salukis in Abigail Young (100-fly // 55.96), Eden Girloanta (200-free // 1:52.69) and Deven Speed (100-back // 56.30) finished runner-up in one event. Samantha Parsons took third in the 100-breast B-final with a time of 1:04.46.
SIU will be back in action tomorrow for Day four, the final day at the MVC Championships, which will feature seven finals events. Preliminary events will begin at 11 a.m, followed by finals events at 5 p.m.
Along with following the MVC Championship Central page, follow @SIU_SwimDive on twitter, @SIUSwimandDive on Instagram and Saluki Swimming and Diving on Facebook for the latest updates on the Salukis.
Day 3 Standings
Missouri State - 546.50
Southern Illinois - 392
Indiana State - 362.5
Northern Iowa - 322
Illinois State - 295
Evansville - 166
Little Rock - 128
Valparaiso - 105
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