Scots Claim Three Titles, Bocchi Honored at MWC Swimming and Diving Championships

Monmouth, IL (02/17/2020) — Monmouth's Preston Bocchi was named the Men's Outstanding Swimmer at the 2020 Midwest Conference Championships where the men claimed three individual crowns to place fourth overall while the women finished sixth.

A junior, Bocchi tallied his fourth and fifth career titles over the weekend to become just the fifth swimmer in Fighting Scots' history to win five or more league titles, opening the meet on Friday by successfully defending his title in the 50-yard freestyle. He turned in a Monmouth honor roll time with the second-fastest swim in the prelims and bettered the effort with a 20.98 in the finals to win by nearly three-tenths of a second.

Bocchi followed with another title in Saturday's 100 backstroke. After taking the crown in the event as a freshman, he reclaimed the top spot following an honor roll time in the prelims and again in the finals to give him his fifth league title, touching first in the 100 back at 51.13, nearly a second ahead of the runner up. He came within two seconds of taking the top spot in Sunday's 200 backstroke, another title he grabbed as a freshman. His Monmouth honor roll time of 1:53.57 placed him second in this year's event, just under two seconds back of the winner.

Kyle Jones followed Bocchi's lead, winning his first league title in the 100 breaststroke. Jones swam a Monmouth honor roll time in the prelims and then a personal-best to take the 100-yard breaststroke title on Saturday. His 57.89 was two-tenths ahead of the runner up to land Jones his first league crown and give the Scots three titles for the weekend after Bocchi won for the second day in a row. Jones clocked honor roll and personal-best times in the prelims and finals of Sunday's 200 breaststroke where he took sixth with a swim of 2:10.77.

Freshman Joseph Addison had his best individual finish Sunday in the 200 butterfly. He turned in lifetime-best swims in the prelims and finals, clocking a 1:57.39 in the finals to place third. The rookie broke his own Scots' record on Saturday, clocking a Monmouth-record 4:15.54 in the finals of the 400 individual medley to place sixth. Addison was the eighth seed coming out of Friday's prelims of the 200 IM for the "A" finals and punched a personal-best 1:58.33 in the finals to place fourth, less than a half second out of third.

A pair of PRs helped senior Rik Doornenbal to a pair of top six finishes. Doornenbal posted an honor roll time on Day 1 in the prelims of the 500 freestyle and shaved three seconds in the finals where he was fifth, touching in a career-best time of 4:44.89. He was at it again Saturday, adding an individual fifth-place swim. After clocking a 1:45.65 PR in the prelims of the 200 freestyle, the senior took fifth with a 1:45.88 in the finals.

Monmouth's relays set one school record and turned in three, top four finishes over the three-day meet.

Addison, Bocchi, Doornenbal and Tyler Davis ended Saturday's meet with a school record in the 800 freestyle relay. The foursome touched in 7:01.33 to take third place, less than three seconds off the winning pace.

The men's and women's relays had gotten off to a good start on Friday, taking a pair of fourth-place finishes with honor roll times. Bocchi, Addison and Jones were joined by Tyler Davis to clock a 3:33.14 in the 400 medley relay - the second-fastest time in program history - to take fourth, three seconds out of a runner up finish. Jaidlyn Sellers, Miranda Pasky, Becca Waxberg and Maggie Wingo teamed in the women's 400 medley race, clocking an honor roll time of 4:16.84, four seconds out of third.

Sellers and Waxberg - both freshmen - turned in the women's pair of top six individual swims. Sellers had the women's top finish Saturday, taking sixth in the 100 backstroke. She recorded a lifetime-best in the finals with a 1:01.88, 23-hundreths out of fourth. Waxberg shattered her personal-best in Sunday's 200 butterfly. Her time, which was also a Scots' honor roll effort, of 2:16.22 placed her fourth less than three seconds out of third.

For the second season in a row, the Monmouth men ended the championships with three league crowns. The men's and women's teams also combined to swim 10, top four finishes and swim two program records.