On Friday, Marshall junior Eszte Laban completed the race at 16.50.40, starting the final day well.

The champion Laban finished first in the 1650-yard freestyle at the Missouri Valley Swim and Dive Championships and saw five more top-10 Marshall finishes, putting the team’s final score at 791 points and closing the weekend with a 6th-place finish overall.

Freshman Mia McBride added a top-ten program history finish to the day’s success with her 200-yard backstroke. Her time of 2:00.88 put her in 8th on the record.

“I think we were all nervous but excited. We all kind of did our own thing to mentally prepare and relax but came together as a team,” Klava Katayama said.

Katayama added to Marshall’s 6th place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay along with teammates Gabrielle Ivey, Madeline Hart and Audrey West, finishing 6th with a time of 3:26.16.

The team looks forward to sending seven members to the NCAA Invitational Championships in Elkhart, Indiana, March 9-11.