Big Blue Swimmers Wrap up Season at CCIW Championships

Day 3 Recap:

The final day of the CCIW Championships concluded on Saturday, February 19 from the RecPlex Aquatic Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. The Big Blue swim team saw a weekend full of broken records highlighted by senior Brigid Duesterhaus becoming a CCIW Champion in the 50 yard freestyle on Thursday.

Saturday saw the 1650 yard freestyle race take place, with freshman Justin Maniago placing 14th on the men's side and senior Hope Roderick taking 10th place for the women.

In the 200 yard backstroke, two men's swimmers made it back to the evening finals with Maniago taking 14th and KJ Hamlin placing 16th. On the women's side, freshman Aly Barnes placed ninth, breaking a 32-year-old record previously held by Jennifer Krimmel, set in 1985. Barnes swam a 2:10.77 to break her third individual Millikin record of the weekend along with placing first in the B final. In the same race, Katie Yelaska placed 14th and Emma Cox took 15th.

Diogomaye Bamba swam in the 100 yard freestyle finals, placing 15th. For the women, Duesterhaus tallied another podium finish with her fourth place finish in a time of 53.81. Liv Marquardt placed 11th.

Three men's swimmers made the B final in the 200 yard breaststroke, with Carter Noyes finishing in 12th, Jason Burrow in 13th, and Omar Ayad in 14th. For the women, Laura Atkinson placed 11th and Kendall Rossignol came in 14th.

Kaitlyn Mayer placed 10th in the 200 yard butterfly in a time of 2:24.34, and Madeleine Erdmann took 16th.

The 400 yard freestyle relay team of Dawsen Loafman, Maniago, Hamlin, and Bamba placed sixth. For the women, the team of Kelli Sangston, Marquardt, Barnes, and Duesterhaus posted a record-breaking performance with their time of 3:37.10 breaking a 32-year-old record to sit atop the Millikin record books. The relay team earned a fourth place finish with their performance.

In the final standings, the women placed fifth scoring 348 points. The men took sixth with a total of 181.5 points.

Day Two Recap:

The second day of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin 2022 Championship Swim Meet was another record-breaking day for the Big Blue. The sessions on Friday, February 18 at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. included the following events: 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 800 freestyle relay, and the 200 freestyle relay.

The same group of swimmers who broke the 400 medley relay record on day one of competion broke their second Millikin record of the meet in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:47.46. The team of Brigid Duesterhaus, Liv Marquardt, Laura Atkinson, and Aly Barnes claimed the top spot by breaking the previous record of 3:57.77 and earned them a spot on the podium in fourth place.

Barnes continued the see individual success in the meet, breaking the 200 freestyle record in a time of 1:53.37. Barnes replaces Sami Battle at the top of the list, with the previous record set in 2015.

The men's team of Dawsen Loafman, Jason Burrow, Carter Noyes, and Diogomaye Bamba finished fifth in the 200 yard medley relay with their time of 1:43.87.

In the women's 400 IM, Katie Yelaska placed 12th and Hope Roderick took 16th place.

Four Big Blue men's swimmers returned to the evening session for the finals in the 100 yard butterfly. Noyes posted the top finish in 12th, Bamba took 13th, Joe Smiley placed 15th, and Kade Zanger took 16th.

In the 100 yard butterfly for the women, Liv Marquardt placed second in a time of 58.13. Marquardt was the second place finisher in the race during the 2018-19 season. Millikin's Kaitlyn Mayer placed 14th and Grace Meacham took 16th.

The Big Blue's Noyes placed 15th in his second individual final of the night in the 100 yard breaststroke race. Omar Ayad placed 16th. On the women's side, Kendall Rossignol placed 11th.

In the 100 yard backstroke, Loafman placed 12th in a time of 55.66. For the women, Marquardt placed fourth in her time of 58.87 and Duesterhaus was eighth in a time of 59.57. Kelli Sangston placed 12th, and Emma Cox took 16th.

The 800 yard freestyle team of Justin Maniago, Smiley, Kenneth Hamlin, and Mark Miller placed sixth. On the women's side, Meacham, Mayer, Sarahi Villafana, and Barnes teamed up for a fifth place finish.

Day One Recap:

The women remain in fifth place in the overall team standings with a score of 259. Augustana leads the standings with 519 points. The men's team sits in sixth place heading into the final day of competition with 134.5 points scored. Carthage leads the pack scoring 577.5 points. The Big Blue will return to the pool at the RecPlex Aquatic Center for the final day of competition on Saturday, February 18.

The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship Swim Meet began on Thursday, February 17 at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Day one included the 500 freestyle race, 200 IM, 50 freestyle, and the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay.

Five Millikin swimmers recorded preliminary times in the morning session that qualified them to return for the evening session. Aly Barnes made the 200 IM A final as the second seed, and Brigid Duesterhaus was seeded first heading into the 50 freestyle A final. Three swimmers qualified for the B final in their respective events: Dawsen Loafman in the 50 freestyle (seeded 13th), Diogomaye Bamba in the 50 freestyle (seeded 16th), and Kelly Sangston in the 50 freestyle (seeded 16th).

The morning session started off with freshman Aly Barnes breaking a 27-year old Millikin record in the 200 IM in her time of 2:10.40. The record, previously held by Jennifer Krimmel, a 1986 graduate and 1991 Big Blue Hall of Fame inductee, was established in 1985 in her time of 2:11.59. Barnes previously sat in the third slot all time on the list in 2:13.70.

Senior Brigid Duesterhaus provided even more excitement in the evening session, winning the 50-yard freestyle race in her time of 24.18. Duesterhaus became the first Millikin women's swimmer to take the CCIW crown in the race since Dina Carlson was the winner in 1992. The last time a Big Blue women's swimmer claimed an individual title was in 2004 when Kristin Peterson won the 100-yard breaststroke.

In the first finals event of the day, the relay team of Loafman, Justin Maniago, KJ Hamlin, and Bamba recorded a sixth place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay. On the women's side, the team of Liv Marquardt, Grace Meacham, Kaitlyn Mayer, and Duesterhaus also recorded a sixth place finish, breaking the Millikin record with their time of 1:40.51. Duesterhaus and Marquardt were a part of the team previously in the top slot with the record set in 2019.

Barnes followed up her record-breaking performance in the morning session with a podium finish in the 200 IM finals, placing fourth in a time of 2:10.54.

In the men's 50 freestyle race, Loafman finished in 13th and Bamba placed 16th. On the women's side, in addition to Duesterhaus's top finish, Sangston placed 13th in her time of 25.42.

The men's 400 yard medley relay team of Maniago, Loafman, Carter Noyes, and Bamba placed fifth in their time of 3:48.02. On the women's side, it was a podium finish for Duesterhaus, Laura Atkinson, Marquardt, and Barnes, placing second in their time of 3:57.49. The women's team finished ahead of the Augustana relay team by less than a half second for the second place finish.

In the team standings, the women's team currently sits in fifth place with 103 points scored, and the men are in sixth with 60.5 points. The Big Blue will return to the pool at the RecPlex on Friday, February 18 for the second day of competition.

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Players Mentioned

Brigid Duesterhaus: Sophomore

Madeleine Erdmann: Sophomore

Liv Marquardt: Sophomore

Hope Roderick: Sophomore

Laura Atkinson: Freshman

Kaitlyn Mayer: Freshman

Kelli Sangston: Freshman

Katie Yelaska: Freshman

Omar Ayad: Junior

Diogomaye Bamba: Sophomore

Kade Zanger: Junior

Jason Burrow: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Brigid Duesterhaus
: Sophomore

Madeleine Erdmann
: Sophomore

Liv Marquardt
: Sophomore

Hope Roderick
: Sophomore

Laura Atkinson
: Freshman

Kaitlyn Mayer
: Freshman

Kelli Sangston
: Freshman

Katie Yelaska
: Freshman

Omar Ayad
: Junior

Diogomaye Bamba
: Sophomore

Kade Zanger
: Junior

Jason Burrow
: Freshman