ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University swimming and diving teams competed against Delta State University this past Saturday at home, with the Statesmen coming out on top.

The DSU women won by a 156-85 margin, while the Ouachita men's team made it closer, but eventually fell 123-99. This was the second New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference meet of the season for the Tigersharks.

"Delta State has been atop this conference for a long time," said Ouachita Head Coach Steven Bostick. "It was exciting to keep the meet close and take home some relay victories. I'm proud of the toughness we brought to the pool Saturday. We've battled with a lot of adversity during the early parts of the season, and our persistence for excellence is starting to show."

Bostick pointed out the top performances by Elijah Christenson, who posted the top conference time of the season in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:54.07. That time is No. 20 in the nation. Christenson also posted a win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.59.

Jeff McCoy had a big win in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:50.02.

Kaitlyn Montgomery and Anna Kate Velasquez highlighted the women's team performances. Montgomery won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:10.86, and helped the Tigersharks win the 400-yard freestyle relay with the fastest leg of the relay. Ouachita won that event by four seconds. Velasquez won the 200-yard butterfly event with a time of 2:13.16.           

Other wins for Ouachita included Kate McCown in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:47.04), Noah Smith in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.37), a team win in the women's 400-yard freestyle relay (3:44.81), and a team win in the men's 400-yard freestyle relay (3:13.31).

The Tigersharks are back in the pool this upcoming weekend, November 11-13, at the Oklahoma Christian Eagle Invite in Edmond.