MSUM Swimming and Diving hosts NSIC Championships starting on Wednesday
For the first time in the existence of the Minnesota State University Moorhead swimming and diving program, the Dragons will be the host of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships. The four-day event kicks off on Wednesday at the Hulbert Aquatic Center in West Fargo, N.D., and concludes on Saturday.
The morning session will take place at 10 a.m. each day with the evening finals at 6 p.m. each day. More information can be accessed at the NSIC Championships link above.
“It has taken 21 years to get to this point. We are hosting the NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships for the first time ever,” MSUM head coach Todd Peters said. “In the program’s history we have competed in eight different season ending championship meets in 10 different locations. With the exception of two years in Grand Forks, we have traveled great distances – Rochester, Minn., Omaha, Neb.,, Denver and Grand Junction, Colo.,, San Antonio, Texas and Cleveland, Miss.. Next week we stay at home, we have home pool advantage, we get to sleep in our own beds at night and we compete in front of a hometown crowd. We are so excited for this opportunity and we are confident we will experience greater success.”
The Dragons’ last competition was on Feb. 2 at rival Concordia. Sophomore Sydney Graf led the way with two wins, while junior Amber Westereng won both diving events. Six other Dragons won individual events as many younger swimmers shined on the night.
The NSIC Championships feature seven teams: MSUM, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Mankato, Northern State, Mary, Sioux Falls and Augustana.
“Mankato is the definite favorite, but St. Cloud is the defending champion and will be tough to beat,” Peters said. “University of Sioux Falls, Augustana, University of Mary, Northern State and MSUM all have athletes who can win multiple events. The new West Fargo Hulbert Aquatics Center is going to impact the results, helping the athletes achieve faster times and higher scores. I predict the rest of Division II is going to be asking how did our conference meet get so fast.”
MSUM notes
—Beynon leads the Dragons in points scored (553.25), wins (26) and runner-up finishes (eight)
—Sullivan is second on the team in points scored (481.25) and third in wins (15)
—Anderson is third in points scored (460.25) and is second in wins (460.25)
—Junior diver Amber Westereng is fourth on the team with 10 wins
—Junior Linnea Johnson (317.25) and sophomore Leticia Rodovalho (289.75) are fourth and fifth in points scored, respectively
—Sixteen different Dragons have won an event this season with seven earning at least two wins
—Sullivan is the all-time points leader at MSUM with 2,281.50 points; she is the only Dragon swimmer ever to surpass 2,000 points for her career. Sullivan has 73 career wins.
—Beynon is fifth all-time in points scored (1,705.95) and has 58 career wins.
Read the article on MSUMDragons.com.