COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 21, 2019) – The Cowboy and Cowgirl swimming and diving teams continued its strong showing at the Mizzou Invite on Thursday. The men currently sit in fourth with 334 points followed by the women in seventh with 214 points.
 
Senior Seth Borgert opened up the day in the 400 IM, posting a season-best time of 3:55.85 to reach the A Final. Freshman Cameron Murphy recorded a career-best time in the event in 4:00.07 followed closely by fellow freshman Thomas Diaz in a best time of 4:00.11. In the finals, Borgert improved on his morning time with a 3:54.97 and a fifth place finish. Diaz finished almost five seconds faster with a new career-time of 3:55.98, while Murphy went 4:00.06 for a spot in tenth place.
 
In the 200 freestyle prelims, sophomore Lainee Jones finished fifth a few tenths off her career best mark with a time of 1:49.05 to place fifth. She was followed by junior Katelyn Blattner with a career-best time of 1:49.31 which eclipses her previous time of 1:49.53 and sixth all-time in school history. Blattner followed up her preliminary time with another career mark going 1:48.18. That is third all-time in program history. Jones placed eighth with a time of 1:48.86
 
Sophomore Sani Carsrud and freshman Olivia Staver completed the event with season-best marks of 1:52.33 and 1:54.31 respectively.
 
Sophomore Ryan Netzel was the lone Cowboy to compete in the 200 freestyle and completed it in a season-high time of 1:39.90. He was a little over a second off his career-best pace. Netzel came back in the finals and finished tenth with a time of 1:39.17.
 
Sophomores Phoebe Browne and Andrea Niemann finished tied with a time of 1:04.41 in the 100 breaststroke. On the men's side, junior Mitchell Hovis was the top finisher in eighth with a time of 54.62, just shy of an NCAA B cut. Sophomore Grant Sloan recorded a time of 55.38 followed by fellow sophomore James Bouda with a mark of 57.55. Hovis would improve his time to 54.39 and moved into ninth place all-time in program history. Sloan recorded a best time of 55.42 while Bouda went 58.16.
 
The final event of the morning was the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Emily Giles posted a time of 55.63, while junior Hannah Mclean-Leonard went a season-best 55.96. Senior Tyler Katt finished just five one hundredths off his career best with a time of 48.39. During the finals, Giles moved into ninth all-time on the Cowgirls' top ten with a time of 55.16. Mclean-Leonard went 56.20. Klatt finished seventh with a mark of 49.18.
 
In the 200 medley relay, the team of Giles, Browne, Mclean-Leonard and Carsrud swam a season-best time of 1:43.00. Klatt, Sloan, Love and senior PJ Musser also went a season-best 1:28.76.  The 800 freestyle relay also saw some fast times. Carsrud, Jones, Staver and Blattner cruised to a season-best 7:21.51. For the men, Murphy, Diaz, Borgert and Netzel finished in second with a best mark of 6:43.60.
 
On the boards, freshman Melissa Mirafuentes would lead the way for the Cowgirls. In the 1-meter prelims, she would take second as she posted a score of 280.70. Redshirt junior Karla Contreras follow in third with a qualifying mark of 277.70. In the finals, Mirafuentes would improve upon her score achieving a mark of 288.65 as she would place second. Contreras would finish sixth in the finals with a score of 267.70.
 
On the men's side, the Cowboys would compete in the 3-meter. The duo of junior Elijah Chan and sophomore Brendan Byrnes finished sixth and seventh in the prelims with scores of 254 and 249.40, respectively. In the final, Byrnes would finish fifth with a 273.95 mark and Chan was eighth with a score of 240.5.
 
Both squads will close out the Mizzou Invite tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. MT followed up by finals set for 5 p.m. Events taking place include the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1,650 freestyle, 400 freestyle relay plus the men's and women's platform.