Full Results
 
WEST LAFAYETTE – The Butler swim team placed fourth at the 2023 Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate Meet on Saturday in West Lafayette. The Bulldogs scored 186 points to finish fourth out of 10 teams. It was a large improvement over their last visit to Purdue in 2021 when they took sixth place with 83 points.
 
"It was encouraging to see such a huge improvement across the entire team in just two years," Assistant Coach Allie Carmichael stated. "We showed up ready to race and made that very clear from the first event. From then on, the girls kept feeding off one another and times got better and better. Some of our fastest swims we've seen this early in a season, which has given the coaches and swimmers such confidence in what is to come."
 
The Bulldog staff recognized Alani Hightower-Bend as the BU Swimmer of the Meet. Hightower-Bend participated in the 100 IM, 100 Free, and 200 Free Relay. She scored 31 individual points and was positive and motivating the entire meet.
 
Other 'Dawgs that swam well on Saturday included Cotter Welch and Emily Landwehr. Welch got back to the pool for the 50 Free and Landwehr was the top BU performer in most of her events.
 
Hightower-Bend earned third place in the 100 Free with her fastest regular season swim and BIG EAST Qualifying Time of 52.93. Olivia Stotts also posted a BIG EAST Qualifying Time to finish 11th (54.22) and Megan VanValkenburgh touched the wall at 55.34 for 17th.
 
Hightower-Bend was the top BU swimmer in the 100 IM as well. She placed fourth overall with a time of 58.46. Teammates Kate Schilling and Sadie Brown also represented BU in the event. Schilling placed sixth (58.56) and Brown came in at 13th (1:01.61).
 
Schilling and Landwehr were awesome for BU in the 100 Breast. Landwehr led BU with a sixth-place finish (1:05.23) and Schilling was right behind her in seventh posting her best time by over two seconds (1:05.33)! Those were two of four BIG EAST Qualifying Times for BU in the event. Ava McGonigle placed 17th (1:08.70) and Lydia Eberlein finished 20th (1:08.89).
 
The Bulldogs set some season-best times in the 500 Free. Elizabeth Naylor was the top performer taking eighth place with a BIG EAST Qualifying Time of 5:15.83. Olivia McKee saw a 10 second drop from the last time she swam that event with a season-best time of 5:26.75 for 16th place. Lily Schwelgin was also just one second off her best time (5:36.87). It was her first time swimming the 500 Free in a collegiate meet.
 
Butler recorded two more BIG EAST Qualifying Times in the 50 Free. Olivia Stotts cracked the top ten with a ninth-place finish (24.71) and Lauren Bergman placed 17th (25.09).
 
Top swimmers for BU in the 200 Free included Elizabeth Naylor and Caroline Zimner. Naylor placed second with a season-best time of 1:57.15. Zimner was close by in 16th with a time of 1:59.01. Each student-athlete posted a BIG EAST Qualifying Time in the event.
 
Butler put Gianna Leffler, Sophie Resner, Caroline Zimner and Sadie Brown in the 100 Back. BIG EAST Qualifying Times went to Leffler (59.73), Resner (1:00.42) and Zimner (1:01.34) while Brown made her debut with a personal-best time of 1:02.05.
 
Additional season-best times were set in the 100 Fly. Avery Piel (1:01.98) and Lily Schwelgin (1:02.26) finished back-to-back in 25th and 26th.
 
In relay action, Butler placed fourth in the 200 Medley Relay and fifth in the 200 Free Relay. Leffler, Landwehr, Schilling and Bergman came together to make up the 200 Medley Team (1:46.57). Leffler went 27.83 in the backstroke split and Landwehr went 28.98 in the breaststroke, going even faster than her split last year at the BIG EAST Championship Meet. Schilling took the fly at 25.53 and Bergman had the free at 24.23.
 
Hightower-Bend, Bergman, Stotts and Landwehr helped BU post a time of 1:36.45 in the 200 Free Relay. Splits went 24.26, 24.18, 24.14, and 23.87.
 
Official Team scores can be found below. Butler will be off until Nov. 4 when they swim at UIndy for a 12 PM start.
 
Women Scores
1.) Purdue 883.5
2.) Ball State 401
3.) IUPUI 222
4.) Butler 186
5.) Southern Indiana 94
6.) Franklin 78
7.) Indiana Wesleyan 74
8.) Bethel 61.5
9.) Anderson 40
10.) Rose-Hulman 14