UMSL freshman swimmer Justice Beard won both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races Friday in a dual meet with Washington University in St. Louis. (Photo by Luke Rinne)
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
Freshman Justice Beard and senior Conley Savage were both two-time winners as the University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s and women’s swimming teams raced against Washington University in St. Louis in a dual meet Friday at Millstone Pool. The Tritons lost the team competitions, falling 130-75 against the Bears’ 10th-ranked NCAA Division III team and 175-62 against their 14th-ranked women’s squad. But Beard continued to shine during his rookie season, touching first in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 10 minutes, 29.60 seconds and again in the 500 freestyle in 5:09.90. UMSL was also victorious in the women’s 200 freestyle relay with Kate Nelson, Madison Bottorff, Kelsey Roth and Audrey Lantz combining to post a time of 1:37.38. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Savage was on the 100 butterfly in 51.07 seconds and the 200 individual medley in 1:52.88. Freshman Hendrik Bechtel won the men’s 1,000 freestyle in 9:43.57, Dylan Bonnett was first in the 100 breaststroke (59.37 seconds), and the 200 freestyle relay team of Guillem Masjuan Roca, Mason Stimson, Ethan Boehle and David Reynolds posting a winning time of 1:25.35. UMSL also had five runner-up finishes, three by the women and two for the men. The Tritons will race at McKendree on Friday and Saint Louis University on Saturday in their final dual meets before the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship meet, beginning Feb. 6 in Evansville, Indiana.
Men’s and Women’s Track and Field
The men’s and women’s track and field teams resumed their indoor schedule Saturday at Eastern Illinois’ John Craft Invitational, held in Lantz Fieldhouse in Charleston, Illinois. There was no team scoring, but the Tritons produced a few highlights, including a victory by Gavin Love in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 6.55 seconds. The Tritons actually had the top four finishers in the event with Michael Wright, Caleb Leach and Luke Hall finishing second, third and fourth, respectively. Leach was sixth and Love seventh in the 1-mile run, while Hall placed fifth in the 400 meters. Dominica Rooks was UMSL’s top finisher on the women’s side, placing second in the 800 with a time of 2:50.97, and she was also third in the 500. Ella Tynan placed third in the 800. Makayla Brown, Kennedy Moore and Melissa White all placed in the top 10 in both the high jump and long jump. Brown was the top UMSL finisher with a fifth-place showing in the high jump, clearing 4 feet, 6 inches, and Moore led the way with a fifth-place finish in the long jump, leaping 14 feet, 1.75 inches. Both teams will compete in the Samford Invitational next Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons did their best to rally from a 22-point deficit early in the fourth quarter Saturday against visiting McKendree, but they couldn’t get closer than the 52-48 final margin. The Bearcats outscored UMSL 32-13 in the middle two quarters, shooting 14 for 27 in the two periods. The Tritons only shot 21 for 62 from the field in the game. Jalysa Stokes scored a game-high 23 points, and Audrey Martinez-Stewart added 14 points while hitting 6 of 11 shots, but the rest of the UMSL lineup combined for only 11 points. The Tritons (7-8, 5-4 GLVC) will travel to Indianapolis on Thursday and Lewis on Saturday.
Men’s Basketball
UMSL’s four-game GLVC winning streak came to an end Saturday with an 83-78 home loss to McKendree. The Tritons struggled to defend Bearcats forwards Caleb Zurliene and Milos Vicentic, who each scored 28 points and combined to hit 7 of 10 3-pointers. They led McKendree to 56% shooting in the game. UMSL, meanwhile, shot only 41.3% from the field. Troy Glover II scored a team-high 19 points and also pulled down 14 rebounds for the Tritons while recording his fifth double-double of the season. Mayson Quartlebaum scored 16 points, Terrell Kabala added 12 and Kris O’Neal II finished with 10 off the bench. UMSL (7-8, 5-2 GLVC) will visit Indianapolis on Thursday and Lewis on Saturday.
