ST. LOUIS -- Missouri State, the 2018 conference champion, has been selected as the favorite in the 2019 Pre-Championship poll. The Bears were unanimously voted first by league coaches.
Missouri State comes into the championship meet with the top times in six individual events, while recording 19 total top-three performances. Sophomore Libby Howell leads the team with the top time in the 200 free, 500 free and the 1650 free. Her time of 16:28.04 is a NCAA B-cut and ranks 44th among all of Division I. Senior Josie Pearson has posted a trio of top-three times, including a B-cut mark in the 400 IM (4:16.38).
Other key swimmers for the Bears are senior Loretta Stelnicki, sophomores Anna Miller and Leticia Rodrigues and freshman Sydney Radloff, who have each posted more than one top-five time. On the diving side, the Bears are led by sophomore Ashley Yarbrough who ranks third on the high board and fourth in the 1-meter event.
Northern Iowa was voted second in the coaches’ poll with 53 points, receiving more than half of the league’s second-place votes. The Panthers have posted top times in seven individual events, while they hold the lead in every relay event as well. Junior Katie Taylor has had a strong season so far, accounting for four of the Panthers’ top times. Taylor’s leading marks come in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM. The latter three are also NCAA B-cut times.
Coming in third in the poll is Indiana State with 46 points. The Sycamores had a successful season, posting 12-straight dual meet wins before suffering their first loss of the year. Four of those wins came against fellow Missouri Valley Conference teams.
The Sycamores posted nine top-five individual times for the season, including four marks that ranked in the top three. Sophomore Marlene Pavlu-Lewin held the highest mark, recording the second-best time in the 200 back (2:00.37). Indiana State is led in diving by freshman Elle Christie who posted the fifth-best score on the 3-meter board.
Finishing fourth in the poll is Southern Illinois with 41 points. The Salukis head into the meet looking to send head coach Rick Walker out on a high note, as he announced that he is retiring at the end of the season earlier this month. Highlighting the Saluki performers is their diving duo, Beibei Ji and Baobao Ji. The juniors lead in both events, with Beibei holding a near 20-point advantage on the three-meter board (335.25) over Baobao (316.05). Both marks are more than 20 points head of the third-best score. Baobao takes the top spot on the 1-meter board by just over one point. In the pool, the Salukis hold eight top-five performances and three top-three marks.
Illinois State comes in at fifth in the poll with 36 points. The Redbirds are led in the pool by juniors Jensen Keck and Kierston Farley-Sepe. Keck holds a pair of top-five times, while Farley-Sepe has four. The team has also received strong performances in diving from sophomore Caroline Lecoeur, who ranks third on the one-meter board (300.52) and fourth on the three-meter board (287.55) heading into the championship.
Little Rock accumulated 22 points to finish sixth in the poll. The Trojans are led by seniors Imre van Huyssteen and Lindsey Butler, who have each recorded a top-five time this season. In total, Little Rock has posted nine top-10 individual times.
Evansville tallied 18 points to come in at seventh in the vote. The Purple Aces’ highest finish on the leaderboard is Kara Steward, who posted the fourth-best time in the 200 fly. Overall, Evansville holds seven times that rank in the top-10 this season.
Rounding out the poll is Valparaiso with eight points. The Crusaders finished the season with three top-20 marks, including on in the top-15 from freshman Isabel Jenny.
Missouri State will host the 2019 Swimming and Diving Championships February 20-23 in Columbia, Mo. at the Mizzou Aquatic Center. Check out The Valley’s Championship Central page to follow along with the championship.