Tracy Gates had the Mustangs’ top individual finish at the 2014 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Tracy Gates, a freshman from Escondido, Calif., had the Mustangs’ top individual finish at the 2014 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Gates finished 11th in Saturday’s women’s 1650-yard freestyle final with a time of 18:06.07.

The Mustangs also had a place winner in the men’s 1650-yard freestyle, where Ben Kurz, a sophomore from Council Bluffs, Iowa, finished 14th with a time of 16:53.23.

Morningside had its top relay finish of the meet in the final event of the competition when its men’s 400-yard freestyle team of Cole Malin, a junior from Carroll, Iowa; Kurz, Marko Spiric, a freshman from Sioux Falls, S.D.; and James Svoboda, a junior from Audubon, Iowa, placed 10th with a 3:09.24.

The Mustangs finished 13th in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:44.91 from its quartet of Evelyn Edge, a freshman from Genoa City, Wis.; Gates, Mikayla Suchomel, a freshman from White Bear Lake, Minn.; and Emma Magsamen, a sophomore from Lincoln, Neb.

Morningside had several swimmers compete in Saturday’s prelims. In the women’s prelims, Hannah Hecht, a junior from Lansing, Kan., was 21st in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:14.62; Magsamen was 31st in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.51; Edge was 38th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 56.61; and Suchomel was 47th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.44.

In the men’s prelims, Malin was 19th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.01; Spiric was 36th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.23; Evan Persson, a freshman from Blair, Neb., was 41st in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.72; Taylor McCloskey, a junior from Runnells, Iowa, was 20th in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.41; Alex Paulsen, a freshman from Carroll, Iowa, was 21st in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.83; and Hunter Haws, a freshman from Ankeny, Iowa, was 26th in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:05.08.

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Mikayla Suchomel, a freshman from White Bear Lake, Minn., has the Mustangs’ top individual finish so far at the 2014 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Suchomel placed 15th in Friday evening’s women’s 100-yard breaststroke finals with a time of 1:09.74. Suchomel, who was 12th in Friday’s prelims with a time of 1:09.13, is the Mustangs’ only swimmer to advance to the finals in an individual event through the first two days of swimming competition.

Morningside placed 11th in both the men’s and women’s 200-yard freestyle relay finals. The Mustangs’ women’s 200-yard freestyle team of Suchomel, Jaimie Fast, a junior from Hastings, Neb.; Evelyn Edge, a freshman from Genoa City, Wis.; and Emma Magsamen, a sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., had a time of 1:41.87.

Morningside’s men’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Cole Malin, a junior from Carroll, Iowa; Evan Persson, a freshman from Blair, Neb.; Marko Spiric, a freshman from Sioux Falls, S.D.; and James Svoboda, a junior from Audubon, Iowa, combined for a time of 1:26.54.

The Mustangs finished 13th in the women’s 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:13.15 from the quartet of Hannah Hecht, a junior from Lansing, Kan.; Suchomel, Fast, and Magsamen.

Morningside finished 15th in the men’s 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:39.17 from its team of Persson, Andrew Burnham, a senior from Pleasant Valley, Iowa; Taylor McCloskey, a junior from Runnells, Iowa; and Malin.

McCloskey broke his own school record in the men’s 100-yard butterfly during Friday’s prelims when he finished 21st with a time of 52.69 seconds. He broke his former Morningside standard of 52.73 set earlier this season at the Liberal Arts Championships.

Morningside had several other swimmers compete in Friday’s prelims. Tracy Gates, a freshman from Escondido, Calif., was 24th in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:01.91; Edge was 29th in the women’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:02.84; and Hecht was 25th in the women’s 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.36.

Hunter Haws, a freshman from Ankeny, Iowa, was 25th in the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.00; Alex Paulsen, a junior from Carroll, Iowa, was 28th in the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.41; Ben Kurz, a sophomore from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was 23rd in the men’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:45.09; Malin was 29th in the men’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.30; and Persson was 25th in the men’s 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.76.

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Morningside College swimmers placed in four relay events during Thursday’s action at the NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Mustangs’ highest finish came from a women’s 200-yard medley relay team of Hannah Hecht, a junior from Lansing, Kan.; Mikayla Suchomel, a freshman from White Bear Lake, Minn.; Jaimie Fast, a junior from Hastings, Neb.; and Emma Magsamen, a sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., who placed 12th with a time of 1:54.66.

The Mustang women also placed 14th in the 800-yard freestyle relay, where Tracy Gates, a freshman from Escondido, Calif.; Fast, Hecht, and Evelyn Edge, a freshman from Genoa City, Wis., combined for a time of 8:23.59.

The Mustangs finished 14th in the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:19.18 from Cole Malin, a junior from Carroll, Iowa; Evan Persson, a freshman from Blair, Neb.; James Svoboda, a junior from Audubon, Iowa; and Ben Kurz, a sophomore from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Morningside finished 16th in the men’s 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:39.83 from the team of Svoboda, Andrew Burnham, a senior from Pleasant Valley, Iowa; Hunter Haws, a freshman from Ankeny, Iowa; and Marco Spiric, a freshman from Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Mustangs were unable to advance any swimmers past Thursday morning’s prelims, but did have a school-record breaking performance from Taylor McCloskey, a junior from Runnells, Iowa, in the men’s 200-yard individual medley. McCloskey finished 31st in the prelims with a time of 1:59.08, which broke his own former school standard of 1:59.83 he set earlier this season at the Liberal Arts Championships.

Morningside’s swimmers who competed in Thursday’s women’s prelims and their finishes were: Tracy Gates, a freshman from Escondido, Calif., with a 19th place time of 5:20.73 in the 500-yard freestyle; Suchomel with a 24th place time of 2:18.58 in the 200-yard individual medley; Hecht with a 27th place time of 2:19.68 in the 200-yard individual medley; Magsamen with a 39th place time of 25.50 in the 50-yard freestyle; Edge with a 44th place time of 25.79 in the 50-yard freestyle; and Fast with a 51st place time of 26.07 in the 50-yard freestyle.

Morningside’s other competitors in the men’s prelims were: Kurz with a 20th place time of 4:51.40 in the 500-yard freestyle, Malin with a 23rd place time of 21.46 in the 50-yard freestyle, Persson with a 36th place time of 21.91 in the 50-yard freestyle, Spiric with a 38th place time of 22.14 in the 50-yard freestyle, and Svoboda with a 49th place time of 22.72 in the 50-yard freestyle.

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