FORT PIERCE – Two wins by senior Alli Crenshaw, single wins by four other swimmers, and six races where the Moccasins had the first- and second-place swimmer were enough to propel #10 Florida Southern to a regular season-ending 120-85 win over 33-time defending NJCAA champion Indian River State on Friday.
After Indian River won the meet's opening event (the 400-medley relay), Florida Southern won five of the first six individual races, and finished the day with a 6-5 edge in total races won. Crenshaw won the 1,000-freestyle to give the Mocs their first win of the day and also gave them their final one by taking the 500-freestyle. In each of those races, senior Heather Burns came in second, beating out Indian River's Madisyn Lyons.
All three of the other freestyle races also had Florida Southern swimmers placing first and second. Sophomore Peyton Breault and senior Kelsey Gouge were the top swimmers in the 200-freestyle; freshmen Rebeka Dics and Krystal Karas placed first and second in the 50-freestyle; and Gouge and Dics were 1-2 in the 100-freestyle. It marked the second time this season Florida Southern went 5-0 in the freestyle races.
Florida Southern's sixth win came from junior Kourtney Gavin in the 200-butterfly, yet another event Friday which saw the Moccasins take first and second. Karas was runner-up in this one too.
Four of the previously mentioned Moccasins helped their 400-medley relay team finish second in that race too. Breault, Gouge, Karas and Dics were part of that one, and at the end of the meet, freshman Allie Kaufmann, junior Leah Haney, junior Riley McClendon and Crenshaw gave the Mocs another second-place finish in the 200-freestyle relay.
In two of the individual races the Moccasins did not win, they still took second and third place. Sophomore Jacinda Whittenburg and senior Morgan Burns were in those positions in the 200-IM, with Whittenburg only 0.17 seconds behind Christina Loh, the current NJCAA national record holder in that event. Whittenburg and freshman Haley DeGrace later finished second and third in the 200-breaststroke, with Whittenburg again just behind Loh.
Breault was Florida Southern's top swimmer in the only backstroke race of the day, placing second in the 200-yard version.
The dual meet against Indian River State was the final one of the regular season for Florida Southern, which will now have a month to prepare for the Sunshine State Conference Championships. The championships will again be held at the Orlando YMCA from February 18-21.
