Warriors Take on Division II Foes at UNK Invite; Place Third

KEARNEY, Neb. – On Friday and Saturday, Midland University dipped its toes into the Kearney High Pool as they competed alongside a trio of NCAA Division II schools. The Warriors went head-to-head with Colorado State University-Pueblo, Adams State University, and the University of Nebraska-Kearney. After 20 combined team and individual events, Midland placed third with a score of 453.5 points. UNK, the host school, won the event with a 901.5 followed by CSU-Pueblo with 883 and Adams State with 401.

Individually, the Warriors had nine top-five finishes in the meet. Mya Nemechek led the way with four of the nine Top 5s, including a victory in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.08. She was the runner-up in the 50-yard free with a time of 25.56, placed third in the 200-yard race with a 2:03.74, and placed 5th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.79.

Lilli Heaston had a pair of top-five placings. She was 4th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.21 and was 5th in the 50-yard freestyle with a 26.34. Quinty Rouschop placed 3rd in the 400-yard individual medley. She had a time of 5:12 flat.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Abby Ertz was 4th with a time of 5:45.02. She was just ahead of Aria Felt who placed 5th with a 5:52.53.

The Warriors' 400-yard freestyle relay team finished as runners-up. The squad of Nemechek, Heaston, Felt, and Ertz swam a time of 3:50.85 for 2nd.

"This was our best meet of the year so far," commented head coach Matt Gilbert. "Going against NCAA Division II schools, we saw our team come together to cheer hard and swim hard for each other."

Next up for the Warriors will be the Luther Invitational in a couple of weeks. The two-day meet is scheduled for Friday, November 17, and Saturday, November 18 in Decorah, Iowa.