Thursday, November 20
Columbia, MO
Southern Illinois University
at
Missouri
Swim and Dive Concludes Run at Mizzou Invite
11/22/2025 | 10:52:00 | Swimming & Diving
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The three-day Mizzou Invite came to an end on Saturday, wrapping up Southern Illinois swim and dive's stay in Columbia, Missouri. During the Invite, SIU matched up against the top talent from Missouri, FIU, TCU, Wyoming's women's team, McKendree, and Missouri S&T's men's team.
"This was a phenomenal showing by the 10 women and 11 men swimmers we brought to the Mizzou Invite," says head coach Geoff Hanson. "Nearly every single person achieved lifetime bests and the group as a whole showed what kind of potential this team has. During the Thanksgiving break we will enjoy the successes of both of our mid-season meets the past two weeks, and come back ready to push towards the second half of the season. Go Dawgs."
How it Happened
Thursday
Before finals even began on day one, Olivia Herron already made some noise for the Salukis, setting a program record in the 400-IM with her time of 4:12.82.
SIU grabbed their first finals podium and win of the Invite in the 100-yard butterfly when Carter Ruthven won the event in 46.37 seconds. The Salukis' next podium did not come until the women's 200-yard freestyle when Susy Hernandez took third in the 200-yard freestyle.
Herron was next up on the podium when she took home gold in the 100-yard breaststroke. Day one finals ended with Southern's 400-yard medley relay men's team coming in third place.
Friday
Friday began with not one more broken record but two. Herron stamped her name in the record book again, resetting the program best in the 200-breaststroke with her swim of 2:08.34. Additionally, Hernandez took over first place in the record book for the 50-freestyle with her time of 22.82.
Once finals began, Southern immediately found themselves on the podium, taking second in the 1:40.01 in the women's 200-yard medley relay. The men's 200-yard medley relay also reached the podium, placing third.
Moving to individual events, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez grabbed her first podium of the meet, taking third place in the 100-yard backstroke. And on the men's side of the event, Willem Huggins finished as the runner-up.
Herron broke yet another record in the women's 200-yard breaststroke, finishing her swim with a program best 2:08.08 to take gold. In the women's 50-yard freestyle, Hernandez broke another school record as well thanks to her time of 22.81.
Saturday
The final day of finals began with a Saluki win as Herron took first place in the 200-yard IM. Right behind Herron was her teammate, Brooklyn Anderson. In the men's 200-yard IM, not only did Benedek Andor finish in second, but he also broke the program record for the event thanks to his 1:45.20 time.
Gallegos grabbed SIU's final individual podium with her second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. And SIU's final podium in general came in the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, where their "A" team finished in second place.
Up Next
Swim and dive now hits the winter break portion of their schedule. The squad will not be back in action until January 9 when the men's team visits Purdue.
Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the swim and dive teams by following the them on X at @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram at @siu_swimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SIUSwimDive. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
"This was a phenomenal showing by the 10 women and 11 men swimmers we brought to the Mizzou Invite," says head coach Geoff Hanson. "Nearly every single person achieved lifetime bests and the group as a whole showed what kind of potential this team has. During the Thanksgiving break we will enjoy the successes of both of our mid-season meets the past two weeks, and come back ready to push towards the second half of the season. Go Dawgs."
How it Happened
Thursday
Before finals even began on day one, Olivia Herron already made some noise for the Salukis, setting a program record in the 400-IM with her time of 4:12.82.
SIU grabbed their first finals podium and win of the Invite in the 100-yard butterfly when Carter Ruthven won the event in 46.37 seconds. The Salukis' next podium did not come until the women's 200-yard freestyle when Susy Hernandez took third in the 200-yard freestyle.
Herron was next up on the podium when she took home gold in the 100-yard breaststroke. Day one finals ended with Southern's 400-yard medley relay men's team coming in third place.
Friday
Friday began with not one more broken record but two. Herron stamped her name in the record book again, resetting the program best in the 200-breaststroke with her swim of 2:08.34. Additionally, Hernandez took over first place in the record book for the 50-freestyle with her time of 22.82.
Once finals began, Southern immediately found themselves on the podium, taking second in the 1:40.01 in the women's 200-yard medley relay. The men's 200-yard medley relay also reached the podium, placing third.
Moving to individual events, Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez grabbed her first podium of the meet, taking third place in the 100-yard backstroke. And on the men's side of the event, Willem Huggins finished as the runner-up.
Herron broke yet another record in the women's 200-yard breaststroke, finishing her swim with a program best 2:08.08 to take gold. In the women's 50-yard freestyle, Hernandez broke another school record as well thanks to her time of 22.81.
Saturday
The final day of finals began with a Saluki win as Herron took first place in the 200-yard IM. Right behind Herron was her teammate, Brooklyn Anderson. In the men's 200-yard IM, not only did Benedek Andor finish in second, but he also broke the program record for the event thanks to his 1:45.20 time.
Gallegos grabbed SIU's final individual podium with her second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. And SIU's final podium in general came in the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, where their "A" team finished in second place.
Up Next
Swim and dive now hits the winter break portion of their schedule. The squad will not be back in action until January 9 when the men's team visits Purdue.
Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the swim and dive teams by following the them on X at @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram at @siu_swimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SIUSwimDive. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Players Mentioned
IM/Back
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Breast/Fly/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Breast
/ Swimming & Diving
Breast/IM
/ Swimming & Diving
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
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