Completed Event: Swimming and Diving versus Big 12 Duals on January 16, 2026 , , 5th, 781 points
Final
Swimming and Diving
Big 12 Duals
5th, 781 points
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Iowa State University Athletics
Nixt, Harris Pick Up Northwestern Invititational Wins
11.20.2009 | Swimming and Diving
EVANSTON, Ill.- The Iowa State swimming team put forth a strong showing on the first day of the TYR Northwestern Invitational. The Cyclones sit in second place with 216 points. Host Northwestern lead the six-team field with 414 points.
Iowa State got to work quickly in the morning session with junior Jeli Nixt and freshman Dani Harris qualifying 1-2 in the 50 breaststroke. In the finals, Nixt finished what she started, taking the victory with a time of 29.14. Harris came in fourth at 29.46.
“I was pleased with how we swam prelims this morning,” Iowa State head coach Duane Sorenson said. “We then came back in the evening and swam well again. Jeli did a nice job in her 50 breast and Dani had a great time in the 200 IM.”
That was not the last the field heard from Harris on the day. Harris earned the top qualifying time in the 200 IM by over a second as was joined by teammate Lindsey Behrens in the finals. Harris repeated her performance in the finals, winning in 2:02.92, the third-best time in school history
“We changed her strategy a little bit,” Sorenson said. “She usually goes out pretty fast her first 100 yards. We had her not go out as strong in her first 100, so she was in better shape for the final 100.”
The Cyclone distance swimmers also got off to a good start. Mundelein, Ill. native Megan Thompson qualified second in the 500 freestyle and was joined by Jenny Vondenkamp in the finals of the event. Thompson ended up securing a fifth place finish and Vondenkamp took seventh.
Behrens and senior Nan Liu qualified for the finals of the 50 freestyle. Liu clocked a personal best 23.30 in the prelims, but had no answer for a pool record 22.77 by Northwestern's Emily Wong and finished second.
ISU capped off the night by finishing second in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:44.09.
The Iowa State divers got their weekend kicked off in Lincoln with 1-meter diving. The Cyclones had a great day on the boards with Tien Tran setting a new career-high (295.0) and winning the 1-meter event. Abby Christensen finished fourth and Sarah Nelson took sixth.
“They did really well, hopefully they can continue to that the rest of the week,” diving coach Jeff Warrick said. “Tien dove outstanding, she had a good prelims and had an even better finals. She kind of missed her back one and a half for over 300. She was really steady today.”
Day two of the Northwestern Invitational is tomorrow with the events starting at 10 a.m. The divers in Nebraska have 3-meter diving to look towards.
Northwestern Invitational
Team Standings
1. Northwestern 415
2. Iowa State 216
3. Michigan State 208
4. Cleveland State 116
5. Kenyon 98
6. Illinois-Chicago 66
Individual Results (Iowa State Point Scorers Listed)
200 freestyle relay
1. Northwestern 1:31.29
3. Iowa State (Liu, Behrens, Glaser, Calzada) 1:34.30
8. Iowa State (Caudle, Norris, Amundsen, Tomek) 1:37.49
50 breaststroke
1. Nixt, Iowa State 29.14
4. Harris, 29.46
11. Suckow, 31.31
13. Frodyma, 31.41
500 freestyle
1. Shishkoff, Northwestern 4:48.97
5. Thompson, 4:57.31
7. Vondenkamp, 4:58.71
16. Vieau, 5:11.26
200 IM
1. Harris, Iowa State 2:02.92
6. Behrens, 2:06.18
15. Frodyma 2:11.40
50 freestyle
1. Wong, Northwestern 22.77
2. Liu, 23.30
6. Behrens, 23.92
14. Norris, 24.39
T15. Calzada, 24.46
400 medley relay
1. Northwestern, 3:43.28
2. Iowa State (Liu, Nixt, Glaser, Calzada) 3:44.09
1-meter diving
1. Tran, Iowa State 295.00
4. Christensen, 244.60
6. Nelson, 238.75
11. Anders, 209.15
12. Naeve, 195.85
13. Dobyns, 183.90
Players Mentioned
Free/IM
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Diving
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Back/IM/Breast
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Fly/Back
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Diving
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Breast/IM
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Distance
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Back/Free
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/ Swimming and DivingLehr Thorson feature
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