CARBONDALE, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana Women's Swimming and Diving finish fourth at the ultra-competitive three-day A3 Performance Invitational, hosted by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
 
Each event featured prelims in the morning to qualify for A, B, C, or D finals in the evening slate where points are awarded to the team. Furthermore, reaching the A Finals after prelims gives the top eight swimmers in each event opportunities to earn 11-20 points for their squad. Among the seven schools, USI earned nine individual A-Finalists on the week, showing vast improvement from 2023.
 
The Screaming Eagles made a 133.5-point increase from their 2023 showing at the invite, along with improving from their fifth-place finish last season. The final standings included SIUC (1,140 pts), University of Nebraska-Omaha (756.5 pts), Bellarmine University (412 pts), USI (389.5 pts), University of Evansville (306 pts), Eastern Illinois University (226 pts), and Indiana State University (40 pts, Diving Only).
 
Thursday
USI swimming sophomore Caiya Cooper and freshman Ailyn Zurliene made the A Final after strong prelim performances in the 500 freestyle. Cooper saved her best for the finals with a school record time (5:04.58), placing fifth in the A Finals. The sophomore improved her time by 2.47 seconds faster than her prelims. Zurliene finished eighth with a stronger prelim time (5:07.92).
 
The Screaming Eagles 200 freestyle relay finals team of freshman Elizabeth Ketcham, freshman Simone Green, sophomore Reagan Holmes and Cooper shattered another school record with a blazing finals time (1:37.19).
 
Ketcham continued her strong freshman season, breaking the 50 freestyle record (24.28). USI ranked fourth among the seven squads after day one with 113 points and only six points behind Bellarmine in third place.
 
Friday
Freshman Anna Bunnell turned in a respectable one-meter diving prelim performance on Friday morning (211.5 pts), earning a spot in the A Finals. The freshman turned it up in the finals earning a podium third-place finish (228.35 pts). The clutch performance added 16 points to the leader board, while also breaking her own school record. Sophomore Maranda Uttke and Bunnell led the Eagles in the three-meter diving events. Bunnell finished in fourth place (226.45 pts), while Uttke trailed behind in fifth place (214.65 pts), contributing 27.5 total points.
 
The relay team of sophomore Hayden Shurtz, junior Sarah-Catherine Dawson, Ketcham, and Green excelled in the 200 medley relay (1:46.29), placing fourth and earning 30 huge points. The blazing time also narrowly broke the school record.
 
Zurliene added an additional nine points to the leader board after recording a school record in the 400 IM (4:30.99) with the top time in the B Finals. Ketcham earned a pivotal spot in the A Finals with a record setting 100 butterfly time (56.72), contributing 11 crucial points.
 
Cooper exceeded her seed time once again with a monumental fourth-place finish in the A Finals, 200 freestyle (1:53.64). The clutch performance marks a school record, along with adding 15 points to the leader board. Shurtz delivered in the A Finals with a fifth place 100 backstroke (1:04.35) finish, adding 14 points to the board. Ketcham placed seventh in the 100 backstroke (58.52) A Finals. USI finished Friday in fourth place at 231 points.
 
Saturday
Zurliene continued her stellar weekend with a fourth-place finish in the mile (17:36.80), breaking the school record and most importantly adding 15 points to the leader board.
 
Holmes broke through in the 100 freestyle (52.26) event, placing sixth and delivering consistent races all weekend. The USI freestyle team showed their depth as multiple different swimmers can emerge on top of the teams leader boards. Shurtz delivered another A Finals performance in the 200 Breaststroke (2:25.80) with a strong prelim.
 
The Eagles freestyle team excelled in the 400 relay (3:31.61), as Cooper, Green, Holmes, and Ketcham broke the school record and placed fourth.

Next up for the Eagles
USI takes a few weeks off before the U.S. Open in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 4-7.