The Butler swim team placed third overall in the 16th Annual Butler Invitational over the weekend. The final home meet of the season was Senior Day for Abby Hobrough, Alani Hightower-Bend, Gianna Leffler and Avery Piel. That group was recognized prior to the start of the meet and were celebrated by their families, teammates and BU staff members.
 
"These senior women have been the picture of resilience and invaluable to fostering the Butler swim team identity," Assistant Coach Hannah Cressman stated. "The coaching staff is so proud of who they have become and all they've accomplished!"
 
Butler placed third by recording 899 points. Bowling Green would win the meet with 1,322 points and Xavier came in second with 1,136. Butler defeated Valpo with 684 points and IU Indianapolis (45).
 
"Being a month away from our conference championship meet, we were happy to see the swimmers demonstrate today their progress in the fine details of their races," Cressman added. "Our swimmers raced well, and we look forward to seeing more improvements with the short remainder of our season."
 
Butler had two swimmers of the meet on Sunday. Kayla Wright earned the recognition for her swims in the 1650 Free, 500 Free, and 800 Free relay. Senior Abby Hobrough was also great on Sunday, swimming in the 200 Medley Relay, 50 Free, and 100 Free.
 
Wright placed second in the 1650 Free and the 500 Free. Her split of 2:00.31 came in the anchor leg of the team's 800 Free B Relay.
 
Hobrough came back this weekend after an extended recovery break from the pool. She raced with tremendous intensity, even winning her heat in the 50 free by a significant margin.
 
200 Medley Relay
Butler's A Relay team placed seventh with Gianna Leffler (Back, 28.55), Kate Schilling (30.41), Ava Whittaker (26.45), and Olivia Stotts (24.88) clocking in at 1:50.29.
 
1650 Free
Kayla Wright was the top swimmer with a second place finish (18:02.03).
 
200 Free
Caitlin Herring placed ninth for BU with time of 1:58.31.
 
100 Back
Caroline Zimner led the 'Dawgs with a sixth place finish. She clocked in at 1:01.03.
 
100 Breast
Kate Schilling and Lydia Eberlein led this even. Schilling placed second with a time of 1:07.34. Eberlein finished ninth (1:08.60)
 
200 Fly
Sadie Brown placed fourth with her time of 2:11.94. It was her fastest time in a dual meet this season!
 
50 Free
Ava Whittaker and Zizi Mateja were top-ten finishers. Whitaker placed eighth with time of 24.85. Mateja also managed to swim under 25 seconds, placing 10th with a time of 24.92, her fastest time in a dual meet this season.
 
100 Free
Mateja also placed 10th in the 100 Free with her time of 54.21.
 
200 Back
Caroline Zimner placed fourth for BU with time of 2:09.29.
 
200 Breast
Kate Schilling earned fifth place, touching the wall at 2:26.45.
 
500 Free
Kayla Wright was second in this race with a time of 5:14.84, and Olivia McKee finished eighth with a time of 5:28.75.
 
100 Fly
Ava Whittaker led the way with a sixth place finish at 59.13.
 
800 Free Relay
Butler's A Relay Team consisted of Caroline Zimner (split 1:58.29), Kate Schilling (split 1:56.51), Elizabeth Naylor (split 2:01.45), and Caitlin Herring (split 1:57.87). They placed fifth overall with a time of 7:54.12.
 
Final Scores
Bowling Green State – 1,322
Xavier University - 1,136
Butler University - 899
Valparaiso University - 684
IU Indianapolis – 45
 
Up Next
Butler will swim against IU Indy on Saturday, Feb. 1. The meet begins at noon.