COLUMBIA, Mo. – The McKendree men's swimming and diving team put forth a strong effort in the pool here Wednesday on the day of the Mizzou Invitational held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
 
The four-team meet, hosted by the University of Missouri, features two Division schools – Mizzou and Brigham Young and two Division II schools – McKendree and Missouri S&T.
 
On Wednesday's first day of the three-day meet, McKendree had five Top 5 finishes overall in the five event finals that were held, along with having both relay teams finish in second place and recorded two provisional times. In addition, sophomore Jackson Lustig (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) set a school record in 200 IM.
 
Wednesday's opening event was the 200 freestyle relay as McKendree's 'A' team finished second overall in the event with an NCAA Division II provisional time of 1:19.17. The members of the second-place relay team were fifth-year senior Gregg Lichinsky (West Des Moines, Iowa/West Des Moines Valley), freshman Mario Perez Torrado (Madrid, Spain/Gredos San Diego), sophomore Arthur Souza (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colegio Saber) and senior Caleb Law (Anchorage, Alaska/Robert Service).
 
The 'B' relay team was seventh with a time of 1:22.52 as the members were sophomore Alireza Yavari (Isfahan, Iran/Shayestegan), freshman Kirk Brotherton (North Liberty, Iowa/Iowa City West), sophomore Abram Hagedorn (Oregon, Ohio/Toldeo School for the Arts) and sophomore Patryk Rozenek (Radlin, Poland/Zsoms Raciborz).
 
Freshman Preston Troyer (Dayton, Ohio/Xenia Christian) and junior Chance Conde (Jacksonville, Ill./Indian River State College) went 7th and 8th respectively in the 500 freestyle with times of 4:31.31 and 4:31.40. In the 'B' Final, the Bearcats had the top two finishes as sophomore Leo Gandaria-Hernandez (Milwaukee, Wis./Greenfield) and freshman Caden Brooks (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) were ninth and 10th with times of 4:33.89 and 4:36.58. Freshman Matthew Stooke (O'Fallon, Ill./First Baptist Academy) was 15th with a time of 4:40.90.
 
Lustig would post a school record time of 1:47.50 in the 200 IM to earn a fourth place finish in the 'A' Final. Lustig's time bettered the old school mark of 1:49.58 set by junior Filipe Pinheiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazi/Colegio Ao Cubo) in the last year's Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships. In addition to Lustig, freshman Ty Miller was 12th overall with a time of 1:54.62, while freshman Noah Tague (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) was 13th with a time of 1:54.85 and sophomore Ethan Hanson (Houlton, Wis./Hudson) was 16th with a time of 1:58/41.
 
The next event was the 50 freestyle as the Bearcats went fourth and fifth in the 'A' Final and were 12th, 15th and 16th in the 'B' Final of the event. In the 50 freestyle, Lichinsky was fourth with a time of 19.90 and Law was fifth with a time of 19.93. Yavari (20.55) was 12th in the 'B' Final, while Souza (20.65) and Perez Torrado (21.05) were 15th and 16th respectively.
 
McKendree's 'A' 400 freestyle relay team captured a second place finish with an NCAA provisional time of 3:09.91. The members of the second place relay team were Rozenek, Pinheiro, Lustig and Lichinsky. The 'B' Relay team was sixth with a time of 3:17.67 as the members of the team were Hagdorn, Lew, Yavari and Souza.
 
The meet continues through Friday.
 
Here are the results from the first day of the Mizzou Invitational
 
200 Freestyle Relay
2. McKendree 'A' – 1:19.17 (Provisional time) – Lichinsky, Perez-Torrado, Souza, Law
7. McKendree 'B' – 1:22.52 – Yavari, Brotherton, Hagedorn, Rozenek
9. McKendree 'C' – Finn Mosley, Kandence Griffin, Colton Griimes, Nick Khatkovyy
11. McKendree 'D' – Joey Ovanic, Gavin Wagner, Ian Garwold, Owen Brubaker
12. McKendree 'E' – Neill Mauss, Noah Fishel, Tague, Miller
 
500 Freestyle
'A' Final
7. Preston Troyer, 4:31.21
8. Chance Conde, 4:31.40
'B' Final
9. Gandaria-Hernandez, 4:33.89
10. Brooks, 4:36.58
15. Stooke, 4:40.90
 
200 IM
'A' Final
4. Lustig, 1:47.50 (School Record)
'B' Final
12. Miller, 1:54.61
13. Tague, 1:54.85
16. Hanson, 1:58.41
 
50 Freestyle
'A' Final
4. Lichinsky, 19.90
5. Law, 19.93
'B' Final
12. Yavari, 20.55
15. Souza, 20.65
16. Perez-Torrado, 21.05
                                                                                                                                                                                
400 Medley Relay
2. McKendree 'A' – 3:09.91 (Provisional time) – Rozenek, Pinheiro, Lustig, Lichinsky
6. McKendree 'B' – 3:17.67 – Hagedorn, Law, Yavari, Souza
10. McKendree 'C' – 3:20.83 – Grimes, Tague, Perez Torrado, Gandaria-Hernandez
12. McKendree 'D' – 3:25.53 – Griffin, Hanson, Khatkovyy, Brotherton
13. McKendree 'E' – 3:28.33 – Wagner, Miller, Ovanic, Moseley