Panther swimmers medal in two occasions to open 2026 MVC Championships

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The UNI swimming and diving group kicked off day one of many 2026 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championship on Wednesday on the Deaconess Aquatic Center. The Panthers sit in sixth place as a group after day one in all competitors with a group rating of 190 factors. 

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

UNI opened the meet with the ladies’s 200-yard freestyle relay that noticed the group of Charlotte Sander, Morgan Meyer, Morgan Raether, and Abby Lear take third within the occasion with a time of 1:31.21, shifting them to fourth quickest all-time on UNI’s all-time listing. Action continued with the 500-yard freestyle, the place Sam Oeltjen positioned thirteenth within the occasion with a career-best time of 4:58.49.

In the 200-yard particular person medley, Elyse Brayton completed in 18th place for the Panthers with a time of two:05.73, a brand new career-best, with Natalie Harris shut behind in twenty second (2:07.38) and Nikki Walters in twenty third (2:07.61), swimming a season-best time. 

Lear confirmed off her velocity within the 50-yard freestyle, taking second within the occasion with a time of twenty-two.84. Sander secured eleventh at 23.21, with Raether in sixteenth (23.56) and Averie Bilskemper in 18th (23.86), who all swam career-bests respectively. 

The 400-yard medley relay group of Raether, Aspen Cole, Hannah Nedder and Meyer capped the primary day of competitors, claiming sixth place with a time of three:45.32. 

 

TEAM STANDINGS (Thru Day One)

1. Southern Illinois (366)
2. Missouri State (323.5)
3. Indiana State (316)
4. Little Rock (234)
5. UIC (217.5)
6. UNI (190)
7. Illinois State (151)
8. Evansville (90)
9. Valparaiso (84)

 

UP NEXT

Day two of the MVC Championships begins at 10:30 a.m. CT on Thursday with the 100-yard butterfly, 400-yard particular person medley, 200-yard freestyle, one-meter diving competitors and 200-yard medley relay. Finals will start at 5:30 p.m. CT

Live protection of the meet might be discovered on the MVC YouTube channel, with dwell outcomes accessible on the Meet Mobile app (swimming) and Dive Meets (diving). Click HERE to entry the MVC Championship hub.

 

UNI swimming and diving motion might be adopted all season lengthy on social media on Facebook (UNI Swimming and Diving), X (@uniswimdive) and on Instagram (@uniswimdive). Schedules and rosters, together with the most recent Panther information and data might be discovered on-line at UNIpanthers.com.