WKU men’s and women’s swimming and diving finish second

Kurt Carson

The WKU men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each finished runner-up on Saturday at the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Swimming and Diving Championships in Rockwall, Texas.

Denver swept both sides of the competition once again, winning the championships as they did last year.

On the men’s side freshman Seth Musser set a school record while finishing second place in the 200 backstroke and junior Billy Kunkel placed second in the 100 freestyle.

WKU sophomore Heitor Rodrigues was named Sun Belt Men’s Co-Swimmer of the Year at the conclusion of Saturday’s events.

“He has just had a tremendous impact on the program in his very first year,” Head Coach Bruce Marchionda said in a press release Saturday. “For him to get that award was just icing on the cake for him.”

The women’s team was able to hold off third-place North Texas to secure a second-place finish.

Senior Stephanie Martin led the Lady Toppers by setting a school record in the 200 breaststroke. 

The women’s team also placed four swimmers – juniors Alex Van Oost, Hilary Mishler and Laurel Chaney as well as freshman Allie Duff – in the top eight of the 200 backstroke. 

During the 2012 championships, both the men’s and women’s teams combined to break 12 school records, three Sun Belt meet and conference records and met 16 NCAA provisional qualifying times.