In its last time as Sun Belt Conference participants, Marshall Women’s Swimming and Diving took home second at the SBC Swimming and Diving Championships.
“What a great three and a half days for this group,” head coach Ian Walsh said. “We have an incredible leadership group that took this young team under their wing and showed them what it means to be part of this program. We haven’t gotten through all of the accolades this team accumulated this week. I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished and how we navigated this conference championship.”
The James Madison Dukes scored 1067.5 points at the championships while the Herd fell behind scoring 974 points.
Kseniia Luniushina finished the meet with a pair of program records in the 100-meter backstroke. In prelims, she recorded a time of 52.84 seconds, and in finals, she took home one of her four gold medals and broke the program record with a time of 52.49.
In the 400 meter medley relay, Luniushina, Paige Banton, Madeline Hart and Audrey West also provided Marshall with a new Sun Belt Record with a gold medal for a time of 3:38.11.
Luniushina earned co-top scorer at the meet alongside James Madison University’s Jess Pryne; each finished the championship with 57 points. She also earned three silver medals on top of her four golds.
“We have an incredibly tough and resilient group,” Walsh said. “Our staff could not be prouder of how this team navigated tonight’s session. Every person laid it on the line for their teammates.”
Other Marshall athletes that qualified for the NCAA “B” qualifying times were Lauren McNamara, first in 200 Fly with a time of 1:58.73, and Ezster Laban, second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:16.31.
At the beginning of the 2025-2026 season, Marshall, along with fellow SBC member James Madison University and Liberty University, will be joining the American Athletic Conference as an affiliate for Women’s Swimming and Diving, with the 2026 American Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships being held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Nate Harrah can be contacted at [email protected].
