Final Results
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Eight members of the Illinois swim team wrapped up their time at the Ohio State Winter Invitational on Sunday evening at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
"Overall it was a terrific meet. There were a lot of season best times and some lifetime bests too. This group just kept getting stronger each day. I'm proud of how they kept working to clean up details and improve their races," said head coach Sue Novitsky. "Molly (Hein) and Monica (Guyett) finished their swimming career on a high note. They have put in a lot of work for this team and I'm looking forward to seeing where they head after Illinois."
The Orange and Blue had a great showing throughout both the preliminary and final rounds of the three-day event. Natalie Edwards, Lizzie Gile, Monica Guyett, Molly Hein, Caroline Hippen, Jenna Keating, Isabelle Packard and Makayla Varga represented the Illini.
Hein finished 12th overall, and second in the B Final, after racing a time of :58.67 in the 100 butterfly. The Hartland, Wisc., native swam a season best :58.42 in the preliminary round of the event. Hein completed the 100 freestyle in 19th-place overall, and ninth in the B Final with a time of :54.52, after qualifying with a season best :54.41. Guyett touched the wall first in the C Final, and 21st overall, of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.89, for a season-high.
In the 200 individual medley, Edwards placed fifth in the B Final, and 15th overall in the event. The O'Fallon, Ill., native finished with a time of 2:12.92. The junior raced to second with a time of :58.70 in the B Final, and 12th-place overall in the 100 backstroke, before taking third in the B Final, and 13th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:05.15.
Sophomores Makayla Varga and Caroline Hippen finished the C Final of the 50 freestyle in ninth and 10th place, with times of :25.13 and :25.37, respectively. In the 100 freestyle, Hippen completed the race with a time of :54.93 and Varga finished with a time of :55.99 for first and fifth in the C Final of the event.
Gile swam to a fourth-place finish in the B Final, and 14th overall, in the 100 butterfly with a time of :59.21, marking a season-best for the freshman, before placing first in the B Final of the 200 butterfly, and 11th overall, with another season-best time of 2:10.69. Packard finished the C Final of the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:12.77 to place second, and 22nd overall, while Keating swam a time of 5:16.42 to finish the C Final of the event to take fourth, and 24th overall.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Hein, Guyett, Edwards and Hippen took third with a combined time of 1:40.66, while the team consisting of Packard, Varga, Gile and Keating finished in fourth with a time of 1:41.79.
Next Up
Illinois will gear up for the four-day Big Ten Championships, beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 19 lasting through Saturday, Feb. 22. The tournament will be held in Iowa City, Iowa.
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