By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

CHICAGO (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Green Bay freshman Willem Poelmans (Hasselt, Belgium) made some noise in his first Horizon League Swimming & Diving Championships experience on Thursday, winning the 200-yard IM in record-breaking fashion at the UIC Flames Natatorium. The Phoenix men moved up a spot into fourth place following the second day of competition, while the women's squad remains in second, just 16 points behind first-place Cleveland State.

Poelmans finished the 200 IM with a blazing time of 1:49.06 in the finals, breaking the Horizon League record of 1:49.09 set by Cleveland State's Jakub Dobies in 2010. The time, which earned an NCAA B-cut, also shattered the 14-year-old Green Bay record of 1:52.67 set by Jens Sonntag in 1999. Poelmans also broke the school record in prelims earlier in the day, finishing with a time of 1:49.37.

The Phoenix also had success in the 200 IM on the women's side, as seniors Heather Bodin (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Megan Burley (Hazelhurst, Wis.) finished second and third behind Milwaukee junior standout Emily McClellan (2:00.49). Bodin grabbed the runner-up spot with a time of 2:03.34, while Burley was close behind in 2:04.67.

Junior Kendra Rottier (Green Bay, Wis.) followed up Wednesday night's win in the 1000 freestyle with a runner-up finish in the 500. Rottier finished with a season-best time of 4:55.80, less than three seconds behind champion Melanie Waszak (4:52.95) of UIC.

Senior Taylor Trelka (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) also turned in a solid finish in the women's 50 free, placing fourth in 23.60.

On the men's 1-meter diving board, senior Mitchell Spaeth (Fredonia, Wis.) earned a fifth-place finish with a total of 276.45. Freshman Tanner Nordlund (Rice, Minn.) won the consolation finals for the Phoenix men, accumulating a score of 257.30.

The four-day meet at the Flames Natatorium continues on Friday with swimming prelims at 10:30 a.m. Live coverage of finals will be streamed live on the Horizon League Network beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT. Visit the 2013 Horizon League Championship Central page on GreenBayPhoenix.com for continuing coverage.

Women's Team Scores
1 - Cleveland State 276
2 - Green Bay 260
3 - Milwaukee 251
4 - UIC 235
5 - Wright State 182
6 - Youngstown State 124
7 - Valparaiso 89

Men's Team Scores
1 - Cleveland State 317
2 - Milwaukee 294
3 - UIC 256
4 - Green Bay 189
5 - Wright State 183
6 - Valparaiso 80

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