Dive into Excitement: MSUM Swim & Dive Unveils the Annual Dragon Invite!

MOORHEAD, Minn. — MSU Moorhead’s swimming and diving team is scheduled to host the annual Dragon Invite on Friday and Saturday at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, N.D. The competition will kick off with a finals session on Friday at 5 p.m. followed by two sessions (10 a.m./4 p.m.) on Saturday. 

Live streaming will be accessible on both days via msumdragons.com. Competing teams at the meet include MSU Moorhead, Concordia College, Sioux Falls, University of Mary, University of Jamestown, and Concordia, St. Paul. 

MSUM has not participated since the annual Rochester Invitational held from December 5-7.

During the first day of the Rochester Invitational, Isabelle Johnson demonstrated strong performance in the 3-meter diving preliminaries for the Dragons, achieving an 11-dive score of 366.35. Johnson secured ninth place in preliminary competition while Zoe Bjerke finished closely behind in 10th position. Bjerke achieved a score of 342.05, with Ruth Guy earning a score of 156.15. 

Sophia Verke swam an impressive 50-yard freestyle final, placing seventh in the championship final of the event. The sophomore reached the wall at 24.47, while Demi-Lee Carlisle finished fifth in the consolation final with a solid mark of 24.30. Maggie Moore triumphed in the D-final of the event, clocking in at 24.70, more than a second ahead of the second-place competitor. Joanna Phillips achieved a time of 25.96 to conclude fourth in the same heat. 

Fernanda Leon led the Dragons on the first day, finishing fourth in the championship final of the 200-yard IM. The freshman recorded a time of 2:09.08 for the finish, while Kelsey Jackson placed sixth in the C-final with a time of 2:18.89. Rose Urick secured victory in the D-final of the same event, finishing with a time of 2:21.18. The newcomer Leon also had a strong performance in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing fifth in the championship final with a time of 57.93, just shy of the NCAA B-standard mark of 56.04. Ruth Pavelski achieved a third-place finish in the C-final of the same event with a time of 58.82. 

The second day commenced with relay action at the finals session, as the MSUM quartet of Demi-Lee Carlisle, Ruth Pavelski, Maggie Moore, and Sophia Verke finished eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team posted a time of 1:37.75, narrowly missing the top five in program history. Verke anchored the relay with a split of 23.78.

Verke also secured MSUM’s second spot in a championship final in the 200-yard freestyle. The sophomore finished third in this final, touching the wall at 1:54.84, just milliseconds off her personal record. Moore clocked a time of 2:00.85 in the C-final for this event. Rose Urick won the C-final of the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:08.73, while Pavelski recorded 1:10.81 in the same heat. In the 100-yard backstroke, Carlisle finished fifth in the consolation final with a time of 59.10. Stark clocked a 1:00.86 in the C-final for the same event. 

 

To conclude the meet on Saturday, Leon won the 200-yard butterfly preliminaries with a remarkable time of 2:07.35, beginning with a split of 29.15. The true freshman attained fourth place in the championship final, swimming a time of 2:08.75. In distance events, Cami Mayo finished 11^th in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:22.04. 

 

Kelsey Jackson recorded a time of 2:11.58 in the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries, qualifying for Saturday’s finals. Later that evening, Jackson placed seventh in the consolation final with a time of 2:14.03. 

 

Verke achieved a time of 52.80 in the 100-yard freestyle preliminaries, concluding sixth overall. She secured a fifth-place finish in the championship final with a time of 52.57. Carlisle reached the wall at 54.23 in the same preliminary, going on to win the C-final with a time of 54.05. Verke also participated in the 100-yard IM preliminaries, finishing 14^th overall with a time of 1:01.48. The sophomore finished third in the consolation final of this event with a time of 1:01.10. Pavelski (1:02.37) and Linnea Edgren (1:04.87) achieved qualifying marks for finals in the same event. Pavelski claimed victory in the C-final, touching the wall at 1:02.10. 

 

Charlie King is in his seventh season serving as the head coach for MSUM’s swimming and diving team. 

Dragon Invite Meet Schedule

Friday Finals (5 p.m.)

200 Medley Relay

3 Meter Diving (6 dives optionals)

200 Backstroke

200 Breaststroke

1650 Freestyle 

100 Butterfly

3 Meter Diving (5 dives voluntaries)

200 Free Relay

Saturday Prelim (10 a.m.)

200 Free                       

100 Backstroke

100 Breaststroke     

200 Butterfly

1000 Free

50 Free

200 Individual Medley

1 M Diving – (6 Dives Optionals)

Saturday Finals (4 p.m.)

400 Medley Relay

500 Free

50 Backstroke

50 Breaststroke

50 Butterfly

100 Freestyle

100 Individual Medley

1 M Diving – (5 dives Voluntaries)

400 Free Relay