(O'FALLON, Ill., Jan. 19) – The McKendree University swimming and diving program concluded their final home meet of the season on Saturday afternoon against William Jewell and UMSL.
 
"Another impressive day of racing and competing by the Bearcats. Alexander was on fire again with his speed in 50-yard freestyle and endurance in 200-yard," said McKendree head coach Jimmy Tierney. "The divers continue to challenge themselves with new tough dives they are learning." 
 
Sophomore Meredith Geyer (Germantown, TN/Germantown High School) continued her strong performance with a win in the 100-yard backstroke, turning in a time of 56.86. In the 400-yard IM and 1650-yard freestyle, freshman Hallie Dixon (Jeffersonville, IN/Jeffersonville High School) touched the wall first with times of 4:37.68 and 18:04.44. Sophomore Victoria Sananikone (Cedar Park, TX/Cedar Park High School) won the 100-yard butterfly, with a time of 57.69.
 
 In the 100-yard breaststroke, sophomore Christina Marshall (Winston Salem, NC/Reagan High School) took the top spot with a time of 1:09.53. Freshman Haley Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School) turned in a time of 24.01 to win the 50-yard freestyle.
 
"I think as a team we were impressively aggressive with all of our races. The intensity was high and we were sharp for how tired our bodies are from winter training. It makes me really excited to see what we can accomplish at conference in a couple weeks," said junior Sydney Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School).
 
Sophomore diver Caitlyn Canadi (South Lyon, MI/South Lyon High School) scored 233.55 on the one-meter and 239.47 on the three-meter.
 
Sophomore Alexander Skinner (Namibia, Africa/Windhoek Afrikaans Private School) won two events, the 50 and 200-yard freestyle races with times of 20.24 and 1:39.23. Freshman Garrett Schrock (Peoria, IL/Peoria High School) won the 400-yard IM, touching the wall in 4:12.24. In the 100-yard breaststroke, freshman Ken Hauter (Waterloo, IN/Veritas Academy) turned in the top time of 58.34.
 
Junior Matija Pucarevic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sixth Belgrade Grammar School) turned in a 49.38, good for first place in the 100-yard butterfly. Senior Daniel Buijs (Amersfoot, Netherlands) won his final individual event at home, winning the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.80.
 
"I really loved the meet and I really enjoyed the spirit that the team displayed. There were a lot of spectators what made the experience a lot of fun. The team gave me a lot of good memories and I will miss that a lot," said Buijs.
 
The 200-yard medley relay team of Buijs, Hauter, junior Luca Simonetti (Sassari, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Gulielmo Marconi Sassari), and Pucarevic won the race with a time of 1:33.65.
 
Freshman diver Ethan Larson (Anchorage, AK/Paideia High School) scored 238.58 on the one-meter and freshman Xavier Flores (Fresno, CA/Clovis West High School) scored 219.31 on the one-meter. Larson scored 308.18 on the three-meter while Flores scored 200.02.
 
"It was a fantastic meet and a wonderful ceremony. I am so proud of my team for the win. I couldn't have asked for a better last home meet. It was a great day to be a Bearcat," said senior Macartney Motsinger (Harrisburg, IL/Harrisburg High School).
 
The swimming and diving program will return to the pool at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships in Crawfordsville, Ind. on Feb. 6-9.