Women’s S&D Shines in Home Finale

Friday, January 30

Muncie, IN

5:30 pm

Ball State University

172

128

Indiana State University

Payton Kelly swims the 100 freestyle vs. Indiana State

Photo by: Heather Parker

January 30, 2026 | Women's Swimming and Diving

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State women's swimming & diving team capped the 2025-26 regular season by winning 10 of 16 events on its way to a 172-128 victory over instate-rival Indiana State Friday evening at the Lewellen Aquatic Center.

It was a pivotal win for the Cardinals (6-1; 3-1 Mid-American Conference), whose only dual loss this season is a four-point (148-152) setback to league rival Ohio.

The Sycamores, who drop to 7-2 (2-1 MVC) with the loss, are the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions and handed Ball State a 216-84 setback in Terre Haute last season.

Leading the charge Friday for the Cardinals was senior Payton Kelly who capped the home portion of her storied collegiate career with two final event wins at Lewellen. The first was a nearly one-and-a-half second victory in the 200 Freestyle, which she posted a final wall touch of 1:51.89.

Kelly followed with a .18 second victory in the 100 freestyle, clocking in a 51.90. Kelly started her day by swimming anchor in the first-place 200 medley relay (1:44.45) and closed it by swimming the final leg of the first-place 400 medley relay (3:29.30). Like most of her career, her final splits were the fastest by any swimmer in each relay.

The Cardinals completed the freestyle sprint sweep with a 1-2-3 finish in the 50 freestyle led by sophomore Anna Keen at 23.71. Keen would also win the 100 butterfly (56.01), swim the butterfly leg of the winning 200 medley relay and lead off the first-place 400 freestyle relay.

Ball State also received event wins from sophomore Ava Butterfield in the 100 backstroke (56.57), junior Alexa Von Holtz in the 200 butterfly (2:04.53) and senior Alyssa Messenger in the 200 backstroke (2:04.58).

In the diving well, sophomore Eeva-Liisa Gibson led they way by earning second on 1-meter (231.68) and fifth on 3-meter (214.58).

The Ball State women swimming & diving team will begin the tapering process as it looks for a strong showing at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by Akron Feb. 25-28 at the Oliver J. Ocasek Natatorium.

BALL STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

200 Medley Relay | Program Record - 1:39.56 by Newkirk, Wright, Keen, Kelly in 2025
1st – Ava Butterfield, Addie Beasley, Anna Keen, Payton Kelly – 1:44.45
2nd – Lauren Fecher, Maya McDonald, Savannah Farlee, Kiley Zoeller – 1:46.41
4th – Aubrey Simmons, Julia Ofman, Alexa Von Holtz, Haley Sakbun – 1:48.15

1000 Freestyle | Program Record – 10:01.21 by Marcella Riberio in 2021
3rd – Addy Czarnecki – 10:24.89
4th – McKenna Potteiger – 10:31.20
6th – Callie Tuma – 10:54.10

200 Freestyle | Program Record - 1:47.27 by Payton Kelly in 2025
1st – Payton Kelly – 1:51.89
3rd – Milagros Amione – 1:54.05
5th – Ella Sears – 1:58.53

100 Backstroke | Program Record - 52.86 by Payton Kelly in 2025
1st – Ava Butterfield – 56.57
2nd – Lauren Fecher – 57.75
3rd – Alyssa Messenger – 58.38

100 Breaststroke | Program Record - 1:00.58 by Bridgette Ruehl in 2013
2nd- Addie Beasley – 1:05.17
4th -Julia Ofman – 1:06.61
5th – Maya McDonald – 1:06.84

200 Butterfly | Program Record - 1:58.52 by Alexa Von Holtz in 2025
1st – Alexa Von Holtz – 2:04.53
3rd – Reagan Graves – 2:05.51
5th – Haley Johnson – 2:09.52

50 Freestyle | Program Record - 22.23 by Payton Kelly in 2025
1st – Anna Keen – 23.71
2nd – Kiley Zoeller – 24.37
3rd – Haley Sakbun – 24.49

100 Freestyle | Program Record - 48.60 by Payton Kelly in 2025
1st – Payton Kelly – 51.90
3rd – Reagan Graves – 53.60
5th – Kiley Zoeller – 54.24

200 Backstroke | Program Record - 1:57.93 by Ava Butterfield in 2025
1st – Alyssa Messenger – 2:04.58
3rd – Ella Sears – 2:05.62
4th – Ava Butterfield. – 2:09.00

200 Breaststroke | Program Record - 2:11.77 by Bridgette Ruehl in 2013
2nd – Addie Beasley – 2:23.74
4th – Julia Ofman – 2:26.08
5th – Maya McDonald – 2:27.24

500 Freestyle | Program Record - 4:48.37 by Marcella Ribeiro in 2021
2nd – Addy Czarnecki – 5:07.58
5th – McKenna Potteiger – 5:10.61
6th – Callie Tuma – 5:20.55

100 Butterfly | Program Record - 53.03 by Anna Keen in 2025
1st – Anna Keen – 56.01
2nd – Savannah Farlee – 57.95
6th – Haley Johnson – 59.49

200 IM | Program Record - 2:00.85 by Alexa Von Holtz in 2023
1st – Milagros Amione – 2:04.87
3rd – Alexa Von Holtz – 2:08.32
4th – Addie Beasley – 2:09.62

400 Freestyle Relay | Program Record - 3:20.28 by Keen, Butterfield, Graves, Kelly in 2025
1st – Anna Keen, Reagan Graves, Haley Sakbun, Payton Kelly – 3:29.30
3rd – Lauren Fecher, Ava Butterfield, Natalie Marshall, Kiley Zoeller – 3:35.61
6th – Addy Czarnecki, Aubrey Simmons, Kiran Stauffer, Ella Sears – 3:43.35

1M Diving | Program Record - 305.48 by Caitlin Locante in 2021
2nd – Eeva-Liisa Gibson – 231.68
6th – Ella Penny – 215:03
7th – Hannah Justice – 212.48
9th – Ava Pavich – 182.48

3-Meter Diving | Program Record - 347.78 by Caitlin Locante in 2021
5th – Eeva-Liisa Gibson – 214.58
7th – Ella Penny – 199.43
8th – Ava Pavich – 154.65