Franco Breaks 500 Freestyle Report as Statesmen are in Second after Day Two

CLEVELAND, Miss. — The Delta State Statesmen delivered an impressive Friday night time efficiency on the Thanksgiving Invite, closing the second day of competitors in second place with 455 factors after a number of occasion victories and deep scoring throughout all occasions.

Senior Mateus Franco set the tone early with a dominant win within the 500 freestyle, touching in 4:25.79, marking a brand new program file. Teammate Austin Huffhines adopted with a robust second-place end (4:33.89), and Adam Rickert positioned sixth to present DSU three A-final scorers within the occasion.

The Statesmen added one other occasion victory within the 200 IM, the place sophomore Riley Oakes surged away from the sphere to win in 1:49.25, his quickest of the season. Eudald Tosquella and Kacper Mochnal added key A-final factors, whereas Neill Mauss claimed the B-final crown in 1:53.57. Additional contributions from Reece Achord, Lannom Bowman, and others highlighted DSU’s spectacular depth.

Delta State grabbed its third win of the night time within the 50 freestyle, the place Ethan Baylin led wire-to-wire to submit a victory in 19.97. Lars Hetzel and Sergio Rodriguez additionally scored from the A-final, and the Statesmen stacked factors with sturdy B- and C-final swims by Ilijic, Furlan, Wallace, and Ploner.

The Statesmen capped the session with a runner-up end within the 200-freestyle relay, taking second place in 1:21.57 behind Henderson State. The relay of Baylin, Hetzel, Rodriguez, and Huffhines delivered constant 20-low splits to maintain DSU close to the highest of the leaderboard. DSU’s B-relay added a fourth-place end in 1:24.44.

After two nights of competitors, the Statesmen stay firmly in rivalry because the meet heads into the weekend championship classes. Day three will likely be tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., on the Ronald G. Mayers Aquatics Center.