Moffatt Wins 1,650 Free; Bears Finish Second at MAC Championship

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Missouri State men’s swimming & diving team secured its second straight runner-up finish in the Mid-American Conference Championships on Saturday with a total of 679.5 points after the four-day meet from Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium. Miami (Ohio) conquered its fourth consecutive MAC Championship with 724 points.

Senior Dylan Moffatt opened the final night the same way he had opened the previous three MAC Championship finales. The Iowa native secured his fourth consecutive conference in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:13.67. The win also marked Missouri State’s 10th straight year of winning the event and 13th since joining the MAC in 2010. Moffatt won by over 13 seconds to the next-best finisher, UIC’s Jack Mills (15:29.95).

“We finished one spot lower than we wanted but that doesn’t take away from the effort and toughness the guys showed all week,” head coach Dave Collins said. “I am especially proud of our seniors for their unwavering commitment to our program for the last four years. They are a great group and having their time as Bears come to a close is special.” 

Missouri State had four swimmers make the All-MAC first team. Suzuki-Tomiyama, Moffatt, Huskey and Grandy got first-team nods. Moffatt and Huskey have made the team each of the last four years. Suzuki-Tomiyama made his third career all-conference team while Grandy earned his first-ever all-conference nod. 

Hill, Maciel da Silva and Hodgins made the All-MAC second team. Hill makes the second team for the second year in a row while Maciel da Silva and Hodgins each made their first appearance on an all-conference team.

Missouri State had a medal winner in the 200-yard breaststroke in sophomore Luigi Maciel da Silva who secured silver with a time of 1:57.96. The MAC newcomer matched the hardware he earned in the 100 breast the night prior. 

Sophomore Jack Grandy also swam under the two-minute mark with a time of 1:59.53 for sixth place. Fellow sophomore Brayden Goeldner rounded out the A Final with a 2:00.52 for eighth. Nicholas Schuster, a former medalist in the event and one of the MSU seniors honored before the session, won the B Final with a time of 2:00.64 to earn ninth place.

The Bears had a solid showing in the 200-yard backstroke with two swimmers making the A Final. Sophomore Alex Boutin finished fourth in the event for the second straight season (1:46.67), besting his time from last year’s championships by just over a tenth of a second (1:46.79). Senior Robert Hill finished eighth with a time of 1:48.78.

Junior Reese Hodgins was the highest-placing Bears swimmer in the 100-yard freestyle, coming in 11th with a B Final time of 44.76. Missouri State’s entries in the event were largely close-knit. Freshman Nadim Elgohary (44.96), sophomore Lucas Chadwell (45.02) and freshman Matvei Chesakov (45.07) finished 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively. 

In the 200-yard butterfly, senior AJ Huskey led the Bears with a fifth-place time of 1:47.36. The Missouri native has finished top five in the event in all four of his years as a Bear, including bronze medals in 2021 and 2023. Sophomore Chris Bedsole finished one spot behind him in sixth (1:47.65), an improvement from his 10th-place result last season. Junior Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama finished this year’s event in 10th (1:49.99). 

UIC took over the 3-meter dive by taking all three podium spots, but MSU sophomore Logan Schelfaut led the Bears in the diving event with a seventh-place score of 284.20, followed by sophomore Storm Opdahl in ninth (280.05) and sophomore Cole Hysong in 11th (258.40). 

Missouri State ended the MAC Championships with the 400-yard freestyle relay where Elgohary, Chesakov, Hodgins and Chadwell put together a team season-best time of 2:57.45 to finish fourth. 

Final Standings

1.    Miami (Ohio) – 724 
2.    Missouri State – 679.5
3.    Southern Illinois – 657.5
4.    UIC – 532 
5.    Ball State – 414
6.    Evansville – 262
7.    Valparaiso – 125

2024 Men’s Swimming & Diving Postseason Awards
Freshman Diver of the Year: Christian Curtis, UIC
Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Benedek Andor, Southern Illinois
Most Outstanding Diver: Harrison Nolan, UIC
Diving Coach of the Year: Susan Bromberg, UIC
Most Outstanding Swimmer: Alex Santiago, Southern Illinois
Swimming Coach of the Year: Hollie Bonewit-Cron, Miami
Most Outstanding Senior: Henju Duvenhage, Miami

All-MAC First Team
Henju Duvenhage, Miami
Alex Santiago, Southern Illinois
Allen Cotton, Miami
Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama, Missouri State
Joey Garberick, Ball State
Harrison Nolan, UIC
Dylan Moffatt, Missouri State
Jered Moore, Southern Illinois
Jack Khrypunov, Southern Illinois
Ben Ramminger, UIC
Owen Blazer, Miami
AJ Huskey. Missouri State
Benedek Andor, Southern Illinois 
Rafe Dolan Peterson, UIC
Jack Grandy, Missouri State

All-MAC Second Team
Liam Davis, UIC
Yonatan Rosin, Miami
Robert Hill, Missouri State
Mason Miller, Miami
Uros Djokovic. Miami
Luigi Maciel da Silva, Missouri State
Bryce Menchhofer, Miami
Reese Hodgins, Missouri State
Gabriel Perseguin, Miami
Donat Csuvarszki, Southern Illinois
Nicolas Lanuza, Southern Illinois
Bryce Handshoe, Ball State
Ian Kmiliauskis. Miami
Cole Tremewan, UIC
Bruno Carrillo, UIC