Columbia News

The University of Missouri swimming and diving team completed the first day of the Mizzou Qualifier at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia. The event, which began on March 1, will continue with preliminary rounds on Sunday at 10 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, and live results are available through MeetMobile.

During Saturday's preliminaries, several athletes from Missouri recorded top times in their respective events. Zoe Schneider led the women's 500 freestyle with a time of 4:48.15, while Anakin Fischer topped the men's event with a time of 4:31.24. Other leading performances included Taylor Williams in the women's 100 butterfly (52.62), Jaden Pospishil in the men's 100 butterfly (47.66), Sydney Bales in the women's 100 backstroke (53.79), and Grant Bochenski in the men's 100 backstroke (45.68).

In Saturday's finals, multiple swimmers achieved personal bests or ranked among program leaders. Zoe Schneider posted a personal best in the women's 500 freestyle with a time of 4:46.10, and Anakin Fischer also set a personal best in the men's race at 4:29.93. Taylor Williams recorded her fifth-fastest program time in the women's 100 butterfly (52.18). Jaden Pospishil swam a personal best of 47.34 in the men's event.

Sydney Bales set a new personal record of 53.30 seconds in the women's 100 backstroke, while Grant Bochenski registered his fourth-fastest program time at 45.40 seconds for the men.

Other notable results included Holley Dennis' eighth-fastest program time (1:00.71) in the women's 100 breaststroke and Zara Zallen's personal best and fourth-fastest program mark (47.87) in the women's 100 freestyle.

The competition also featured various relay trials and additional individual swims where several athletes posted season or career-best marks.

Following this meet, Missouri's diving squad is scheduled to travel to Iowa City for participation in NCAA Zone Diving Championships from March 10-12.