ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Henderson State men's swimming and diving team earned a strong road victory this Saturday morning, topping host University of Missouri–St. Louis, 150–112. The Reddies controlled the meet from the opening relay and never relinquished the lead, winning multiple events and stacking points across the board.
Henderson State opened the meet with momentum, as the 200 medley relay team of Avery Henke, Oskar Cebula, Colin Candebat, and Oliver Pozvai captured first place with a time of 1:34.84. The Reddies followed that performance by sweeping the top three spots in the 1,000 freestyle, led by Colton Bennett's winning time of 10:07.24. Thomas Landreneau placed second and Bartu Akin finished third to give Henderson State a commanding early advantage.
The Reddies continued to dominate the distance events, as Alan Gonzalez Mujica won both the 200 freestyle (1:44.70) and the 500 freestyle (4:48.09), while Bennett added a second-place finish in the 500. Henderson State also controlled the butterfly races, with Candebat taking first in the 200 butterfly in 1:55.18 and Cody Bauer finishing third in the 100 butterfly.
In the backstroke events, Hunter Rytting led the way with a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke (1:54.97) and added a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke. Avery Henke and Eli Westbrook also contributed key points in the event, helping the Reddies extend their lead.
The breaststroke races saw strong performances from Oskar Cebula, who placed first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.38, and added a third-place finish in the 200 breaststroke. Emiliano Pina and Mark Eberhard followed closely behind in the 200 breaststroke to secure additional points for Henderson State.
Henderson State closed the meet in dominant fashion in the relays, winning the 200 freestyle relay as the team of Vitor Sa, Scott Doll, Tristen Fergunson, and Oliver Pozvai touched first in 1:25.96. The Reddies also placed third in the same event, further solidifying the team victory.
On the women's side, Henderson State finished with 59 points and turned in several strong individual performances. Raven Roberts led the Reddies with a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle, while Iris McNamara recorded a pair of top-three finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
Jennifer Montier delivered a strong showing in the butterfly events, placing second in the 200 butterfly and third in the 100 butterfly. Delaney Smith and Emily Hand added points in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events, helping the Reddies remain competitive throughout the meet.
In the distance events, Daniella Ruiz placed third in the 1,000 freestyle and later added another top-three finish in the 500 freestyle. Monroe Chittum and Ryleigh Wells contributed solid efforts in the breaststroke events, each recording top-five finishes in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
Henderson State's relay teams also delivered key points, as the Reddies placed third in the 200 medley relay and third in the 200 freestyle relay to close out the meet.
Overall, Henderson State captured wins in 10 events and placed multiple swimmers in scoring positions throughout the meet. The men's team's depth and consistency proved to be the difference, as the Reddies earned their second road victory of the season and continued to build momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
The Red Wave will return to action January 23rd at rival Ouachita Baptist to end the regular season before Confrence Championships in February.
