Salukis Claim Multiple Event Wins as Mebs Qualifies for NCAA Zones

Friday, October 16

Cedar Falls, IA

6 PM / 10 AM

Southern Illinois University

University of Northern Iowa (Women)/St. Thomas (MN)

Salukis Claim Multiple Event Wins as Mebs Qualifies for NCAA Zones Image

Southern Illinois calls it up with Dawgs Up before the final day of competition against UIC and St. Thomas.

10/19/2026 | 6:23:00 | Swimming & Diving, Swimming & Diving

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By: Karen Rodriguez

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois swimming and diving turned in a strong performance during its two-day meet against Northern Iowa and St. Thomas on Oct. 16-17 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, earning multiple first-place finishes, sweeping the top three spots in distance events and securing an NCAA Zone Diving Championships qualification for Oliver Mebs.

Friday

Southern Illinois opened Friday's competition with a first-place finish in the men's 400-yard medley relay. Brent Dahl, Maddax Thompson, Carter Ruthven and Rodrigo Ramos combined for a winning time of 3:19.14.
The Salukis continued their strong start in the individual events, with Livia Munkacsi winning the women's 400-yard individual medley (4:27.82) and Juraj Barcot taking first in the men's event ( 3:57.44).

Ozgur Yonca won the men's 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.27, while Carter Ruthven won the 200-yard butterfly in 1:48.68. Benedek Andor added another victory in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing in 20.92.

SIU collected two more first-place finishes in the 100-yard Backstroke, with Liseska Gallegos winning the women's event ( 54.96) and Brent Dahl taking the men's event with 49.46. Maddax Thompson also won the men's 100-yard breaststroke (55.61).
The Salukis dominated the distance events, sweeping the top three spots in both the women's and men's 1,000-yard freestyle.

On the women's side, Munkacsi led the way ( 10:19.27), followed by Ale Hoyos (10:28.10) and freshman Nicole Centeno (10:30.00).
The men also secured the top three positions, led by Yonca in (9:28.77); Kyler Beights finished second in (9:37.62), while Joshua Aceves placed third (9:47.14).

Saturday

Southern Illinois carried its momentum into Saturday, opening the day with a first-place finish in the men's 200-yard medley relay. Michael Morrow, Maddax Thompson, Carter Ruthven and Rodrigo Ramos combined for a winning time of 1:30.17.

The Salukis again swept the top three spots in the distance events. Munkacsi earned first place in 4:58.07, followed by Hoyos in 5:04.46 and freshman Alyssa Lo in 5:05.85. On the men's side, freshman Yonca finished first in 4:28.37, followed by Beights in 4:36.37 and Aiden Tillis in 4:36.48.

SIU added first-place finishes in the breaststroke events, with freshman Georgina Hamilton winning in 2:18.64 and Thompson taking the men's event in 2:01.70.

Dahl claimed another victory in a 200-yard event, finishing in 1:48.58. The Salukis added two more first-place finishes in the 100-yard freestyle, with a freshman Hana Beqi winning the women's event in 50.04 and Rodrigo Ramos taking the men's event in 45.30. Ruthven also earned a first-place finish in a 100-yard Butterfly event, touching the wall in 48.57. Gallegos continued her strong weekend with a victory in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 2:05.81.

The Salukis closed the swimming competition with a first-place finish in the men's 400-yard freestyle relay. Rodrigo Ramos, Hazem Aboustate, Ruthven and Benedek Andor teamed up to secure the victory.

In diving, Mebs highlighted the weekend with first-place finishes on both boards. He scored 316.65 points on the three-meter board and 302.70 points on the one-meter board. His one-meter performance secured his qualification for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships.

Up Next

Southern Illinois will return to competition on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31, hosting Missouri a SEC team at Shea Natatorium in Carbondale. The meet is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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