Buffs Swimming Posts Numerous Provisional Marks at Carson-Newman

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On Saturday, The Milligan University swimming squads took part in a triangular event hosted by Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City. Also in attendance was the Emory & Henry men's and women's teams. Overall, the two squads finished in second out of three teams on each side. 

As the first of 17 women's provisional qualifiers at the event, Riley Renaud finished the 200 freestyle in 2:00.71, which was also a season-best mark for the standout senior. 

On the men's side, Stephen Gilbert posted a provisional qualifying time in the 200 freestyle, having finished at 1:47.19 in fifth place. Gellert Szedlak has already qualified at the King Invite but posted a 1:44.18 to finish third. 

The women's 100 backstroke saw a runner-up finish from Azaliia Gabdrakipova at 59.21 to reach a provisional clip and a third-place showing from Samantha van Vuure in 59.86 to qualify, as well. 

Joash Mckonie and RJ Brumit also qualified for the NAIA National Championships with provisional marks in the men's 100 backstroke. They finished third and fourth, respectively. 

Teagan Jose posted a 1:09.27 in the 100 breaststroke to reach the provisional mark for the NAIA Championships. It was also her season-best mark. 

In the men's 100 breaststroke, Robert Adam won the event and reached a provisional mark of 56.39. Caleb Fry was right behind him at 56.85 to place second and reach the provisional time. Finally, Jack Allen's 59.26 also earned him a provisional spot. 

The women's 200 butterfly saw both Mary Grace Bitting and Katelyn Williams have provisional times of 2:10.03 and 2:18.12, respectively.  

Both Andre Bazzana, who won the event, and third-place S. Gilbert notched qualifying clips in the men's 200 butterfly, clocking in at 1:55.20 and 1:58.43. 

Back on the women's side, Madison Akbari and Abigail Pauls were able to meet the provisional standard in the women's 50 freestyle. Akbari finished as the event's runner-up. 

Paxton Smith was the lone men's 50 freestyle swimmer to meet the provisional mark. He came in second with a 21.09 clip in the race. 

Akbari would turn around and qualify in the women's 100 freestyle after her 50 freestyle mark. She notched a 54.90 time to finish third out of 11 swimmers. 

Smith would do the same thing, notching a qualifying mark in the 100 freestyle after his 50 freestyle qualification. He posted a 46.83 time to clinch his spot in the national championships. 

A trio of 200 backstroke swimmers notched provisional marks, as van Vuure, Gabdrakipova and Emily Haas finished in second, third and fifth, respectively. Their times of 2:07.86, 2:08.50 and 2:13.32 earned them those qualifications. 

Jayden Bearden also clinched a 200 backstroke ticket with his third-place result in 1:57.27. 

Jose would get a 200 breaststroke mark of 2:24.74, which earned her a bid to nationals after her earlier 100 backstroke qualification. 

The men's 200 breaststroke had a trio of Milligan qualifiers, as they swept the event's podium. Adam, Fry and Allen each piggybacked off their 100 breaststroke provisional clips with more of the same in the longer distance race. Adam also posted his personal-best mark with a time of 2:03.71. 

Renaud and Peyton Brady would earn qualifying times and personal-bests in the 500 freestyle on the women's side with first and second-place results. 

Peter Gilbert swam a 4:44.15 race in the men's 500 freestyle to earn himself a qualification to the NAIA championships. 

Bitting and Suzy Aguirre became provisional qualifiers in the women's 100 butterfly with times of 58.18 and 1:00.97. 

In the men's 100 butterfly, Mckonie, Brumit and Sergio Tudor earned their trips to Elkhart, Ind. later this season with second, third and fourth place finishes under the provisional mark. 

Both Adam and Bazzana had qualifying 200 individual medley qualifying times, with Adam posting a personal-best mark of 1:52.92. 

In 200 medley relay races, the Milligan men and women posted two new individual school records, as Bitting posted a 27.28 in the 50 butterfly portion of the relay on the women's side. Fry then posted a 26.44 in the 50 breaststroke leg of the men's contest to break Milligan's previous marks in both events. 

Click HERE to view the full results. 

In total, between the two squads, 37 provisional qualifying standards were met on Saturday. An outstanding start to the Buffaloes' season leads them into their first home matchup of the year against WVU Tech inside Steve Lacy Fieldhouse on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.