ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul swimming and diving team will conclude their historic 2022-23 season at the NSIC Championships on February 8-11 at the Hulbert Aquatics Center in West Fargo, N.D. The Golden Bears will feature a program-best nine swimmers in 15 events at the championships this year.
 
Each day will be split up into two sessions. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. and finals will begin at 5:30 p.m. For more information on the event and ticketing, please visit 2023 Northern Sun Swimming and Diving Championship.
 
Ahead of the meet, Head Coach Rachel Busch stated, "The Conference Championships is "pay day", where the team cashes in on all of their hard work in and out of the pool." Busch added, "They are rested, strong, and ready to swim fast." Busch concluded, "We are thrilled to continue making history by competing at the Conference Championships with a roster double the size of last year."
 
LAST TIME OUT
CSP swim and dive concluded the regular season two weeks ago with their first home dual meet win in school history over the Augsburg Auggies at Two Rivers Aquatics Center. The Golden Bears claimed first in all the swimming events in the 161-51 victory.
 
Farida Maher was one of two swimmers to go undefeated with 27 points at the meet for the Golden Bears. The sophomore finished first in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 54.62, first in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.66 and first in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:01.28.
 
Chloe Rihon was the other Golden Bear to finish the meet without a loss and 27 points. The freshman would claim first in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 32.87, first in the 100 yard individual medley with a time of 1:04.13 and first in the 1000 yard freestyle with a time of 11:35.03.
 
Sydney Fleming recorded a pair of first-place finishes and 18 points. The sophomore finished first in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of 29.03 and first in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.78.
 
Hannah Hartlage added 17 points. The freshman finished first in the 50 yard butterfly with a time of 28.21, second in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:04.62 and second in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:11.84.
 
Charly Horn finished with 13 points. The freshman collected a first-place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:14.21 and second in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 33.19.
 
Giulia Cury finished with 12 points. The freshman collected a first-place finish in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 6:01.16 and third in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:14.10.
 
Emma Granovsky also finished with 12 points. The freshman finished first in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.53 and third in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of 31.29.
 
Stephanie De Leon finished with eight points. The sophomore collected a pair of second-place finishes in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.78 and 50 yard backstroke with a time of 31.07.
 
Laura Vekony would add five points for the Golden Bears. The sophomore finished third in the 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 36.38 and fourth in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 28.66.
 
CSP's relay teams went a perfect 2-for-2 with a first-place finish in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 2:00.94 and a first-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:45.50.
 
ABOUT THE NSIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The NSIC Championships will be hosted by the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons at the Hulbert Aquatics Center in West Fargo, N.D.
 
The top 16 competitors will place in individual competitions, and the top two teams will place in relay events. All-conference performers will consist of the top three placers in each event and the top two relay teams.
 
The NSIC Championship will feature four teams ranked in the CSCAA Top-25 Poll. Wayne State is currently ranked 12th in the country with 168 points, followed by #13 Augustana (154), #17 St. Cloud State (94) and #18 Minnesota State (88).
 
In the short eight-year history of the NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships that began in the 2012-13 season, only two teams have claimed team championships. The reigning back-to-back team champions, Minnesota State, has claimed three championships in the last five years. St. Cloud State has the most team championships in NSIC history with five.
 
HISTORY AT THE NSIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
This season marks the third time in program history that the Golden Bears will appear at the NSIC Championships. Every year since the program started in 2020 the Golden Bears have improved in scoring and points while doubling their roster size each season.
 
Fleming and Vekony made CSP history as the first swimmers to compete at the conference meet for the Golden Bears back in February 2021. Vekony added four points, making her the first swimmer to score at the conference meet for the Golden Bears.
 
Last season at the MidCo Aquatics Center in Sioux Falls, the Golden Bears notched their best finish in the team standings with 89 total points. Then freshman Maher led the Golden Bears with 63 points. She recorded a second-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle (NCAA B-cut) and a third-place finish in the 500 yard freestyle (NCAA B-cut). She collected a total of four NCAA B-cut times, two All-NSIC finishes, set four personal best times and was voted NSIC Freshman of the Year. Vekony added a strong showing with 11 points and set six personal best times; Horn scored nine points and set four personal best times; and De Leon collected five personal best times.