SPRINGFIELD, MO  --  The Miners opened their 2025-26 season with a dual meet against Drury today, ending in a 174-31 victory for the Panthers.

The Miners took first in 2 of the 13 events at the meet. Connor Bichsel (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West) won the 200-yard breast stroke with a time of 2:05.6 while Nathan Butler (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) finished first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:55.22.

The Miners took 4th and 5th out of 5 teams in the 200-yard medley relay and later finished 3rd and 6th out of 6 teams in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Gabriel Peragallo (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colégio Santo Antônio), Grady Ashley (St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood), Nathan Butler (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit), and Bryce Naquin (Thibodaux, LA/Thibodaux) made up 200-yard free relay team that took third with a time of 1:26.78.

Naquin took 6th in the 200-yard free, finishing with a personal best of 1:44.97. He would later finish 4th in the 100-yard free with a time of 46.85. Adam Wiedemeier's (West Monroe, LA/West Monroe) 21.19 in the 50-yard free earned him 5th place. Bichsel took fifth in the 200-yard individual medley with 1:54.66.

Butler's first-place finish in the 200-yard fly was accompanied by a third-place finish by John Cottrell (Fort Madison, IA/Fort Madison) and a fifth-place finish by Oscar Iden (Oslo, Norway/Oslo Private Gymnasium). Jordan Christensen (Coralville, IA/Iowa West) finished 4th and Artur Becker (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colégio Santo Antônio) took 5th along with Bichsel's first-place finish in the 200-yard breast.

What's Next
The Miners will head to William Jewell next week for another matchup against a GLVC opponent.

Sign up for our email blast at https://minerathletics.com/subscribe.aspx
Follow Miners Swimming on X and Instagram at miners_swim