SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Farida Maher etched her name in the NSIC record books after breaking the conference record in the 200 freestyle on the second day of competition at the 2023-24 NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Golden Bears had a pair of NSIC All-Conference performers and five school records fell at the Midco Aquatic Center on Thursday.

"The team is off to an incredible start; it's been exciting to see their season-long hard work pay off with fast swims and great dives," commented Head Coach Rachel Busch. "We are at nearly 100% season best times and that is truly remarkable."
 
The Concordia-St. Paul swimming and diving team will return to action tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. for the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and 200 butterfly prelims. Finals will start at 5:30 p.m. and will conclude with the 200 freestyle relay.
 
CSP remains in fifth place in the team standings with 193 points. Augustana (S.D.) continues to lead the meet with 430.5 points ahead of Minnesota State (399) and St. Cloud State (331).
 
Maher continues a historic run at the conference championship after breaking the NSIC record in the 200 freestyle with an NCAA B-Cut time of 1:49.71, giving the junior her second conference title of the meet. The previous record of 1:50.00 was established in 2018 by Andrea Bryson of St. Cloud State, but it dropped to the third-best time in conference history tonight as second-place finisher Victoria Murillo of UMary also broke the record with a time of 1:49.79.
 
Also, in the 200 freestyle, freshman Marianna Perna added a solid finish for the Golden Bears. After securing a spot in the B-final with a time of 1:56.55, the Italian collected four points after finishing 13th overall in the event with a time of 1:56.15.
 
Caitlyn Greenwalt made history once again this season by becoming the first Golden Bear diver to compete and earn All-Conference honors at the NSIC Championships. In the prelims of the 3-meter dive, the sophomore collected a score of 419.55 to position herself in second heading into the finals. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota native became an All-Conference recipient after finishing second overall with an NCAA qualifying score of 428.40.
 
Chloe Rihon continued her strong start to the NSIC Championships on day two. After setting a new school record in the 400 IM prelims, the Liège, Belgium native broke the school record again with a time of 4:40.95 in the 13th-place finishing effort to give CSP four points in the event.
 
The Golden Bears sent two more swimmers to the finals of the 400 IM finals, as Senior Laura Vekony made the B-final with a time of 4:44.02 and Savanna Honan secured her first career finals opportunity in the C-final with a time of 4:51.02. In the finals, Vekony added a career-best finish time of 4:42.12 and three points, while Honan finished at 4:55.73.
 
Rebecca Hildebrand continued her impressive showing after she broke her second school record of the meet. The freshman posted a time of 59.80 in the 100 butterfly to overtake her previous record of 1:01.26.
 
During a time trial, Charly Horn established a new school record in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 30.65 to end the morning session on a high note for the Golden Bears.
 
In the relay competition, the team of Rihon, Horn, Honan and Emma Granovsky collected an eighth-place finish and 26 points with a time of 4:01.25, while the team of Zoe Hiers, Sierra Sherry, Vekony and Perna finished 17th with a time of 4:17.20 and four points.
 
Action concluded with a time trial session to end the evening session. Freshman NSIC All-Conference swimmer Sophie Leo improved her school record in the 50 freestyle with an NCAA B-Cut time of 23.57. TEAM STANDINGS
1. Augustana - 430.5  
2. Minnesota State - 399
3. St Cloud State - 331
4. Sioux Falls - 301.5
5. Concordia-St. Paul - 193
6. UMary - 152
7. Northern State - 148  
8. Southwest Minnesota State - 140
9. MSU Moorhead - 110   RELAY RESULTS
8th: 400 Medley Relay (A), 4:01.25 (Chloe Rihon, Charly Horn, Savanna Honan, Emma Granovsky) - 26 Points
 
17th: 400 Medley Relay (B), 4:17.20 (Zoe Hiers, Sierra Sherry, Laura Vekony, Marianna Perna) - 4 Points  INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
 *Point Scorers
 
Caitlyn Greenwalt - 17 Points
2nd: 428.40 (All-Conference, NCAA Qualifying Score)
 
Farida Maher - 20 Points
1st: 200 Freestyle, 1:49.71 (All-Conference, NCAA B-Cut, NSIC Record, School Record)
 
Marianna Perna - 4 Points
13th: 200 Freestyle, 1:56.15
 
Chloe Rihon - 4 Points
13th: 400 IM, 4:40.95 (School Record)
 
Laura Vekony - 3 Points
14th: 400 IM, 4:42.12