YORK, Pa. - Millersville closed a historical performance at the PSAC Championships Thursday night, capping the best finish in program history with a school record in the final event. 

Prior to 2023, Millersville had never finished better than eighth at the conference championship meet, but after back-to-back seventh place finishes, the Marauders' 12 qualifiers swam to a fifth-place finish and 623 points. The Marauders held a tenuous two-point lead on Gannon after three days but pulled away with a strong final session. Gannon finished with 594 points

"Our program has been on a great path, and it is awesome to get the highest finish in history," said Millersville head coach Evan Anthony. "We knew it was going to be a close battle to the finish in the standings. Millersville has become a special place to swim, and this will continue to propel us in the future. We believed in ourselves as a team from the beginning and it is a great time for Millersville swimming."

The final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay, featured a school record time of 3:33.10. The quartet featured senior Jewels Hepner in the leadoff spot and senior Jordan Plempel as the anchor in their final collegiate race. Anna Sassaman and Claire Weaver swam the second and third legs of the eighth-place finish. 

Millersville's day started with Jane McClelland and Madison Taylor scoring in the 1,650-yard freestyle. McClelland reached the podium, swimming to seventh place with a time of 17:52.63. Taylor posted her best PSAC Championships finish by taking 12th (18:31.72). 

Hepner took 14th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.74. Weaver swam a 2:08.66 and placed 10th in the 200-yard backstroke. Mackenzie Yosko also scored points in the event, placing 21st. Plempel and Izabella Wreski gave the Marauders two point scorers in the 200-yard breaststroke. Plempel placed ninth in 2:26.27 and Wreski finished closed behind in 11th with a time of 2:26.88. 

"This week was an exciting time for our program," said Anthony. "The team trained extremely hard the whole year and it showed the past couple days. In practice we train to be ready to go for a four-day meet. We got stronger each day and even capped off the meet with a school record in the relay. We had lots of people get into their first A, B, and/or C finals which was exciting to see. Our main focus remained on being the best we could be, and the results would come. We did a great job of supporting each other which helps a ton for those in the water and to push through the fatigue. I am so proud of this team and what they accomplished this year."

Millersville's week included four school records and one of the best individual finishes in school history when Plempel took second in the 400 IM. Four different swimmers reached the podium with top-eight finishes. Plempel did it three times, and McClelland did it twice.