By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

CHICAGO (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Despite sitting in fourth place, the Green Bay women's swimming and diving team (459 points) is within striking distance of first-place Cleveland State (487.5 points) heading into the final day of the 2013 Horizon League Championships. The Phoenix men's squad is also in fourth following Friday's finals at the UIC Flames Natatorium after picking up a pair of individual conference titles in school-record fashion.

"It's interesting on the women's side to have the top four teams very much in the mix heading into Saturday," Green Bay head coach Jim Merner said. "We have some good opportunities tomorrow to make a move, but it's going to be very difficult. Only time will tell."

Senior Megan Burley (Hazelhurst, Wis.) continued her strong conference meet for the Green Bay women with a runner-up finish in the 400-yard IM, touching in at 4:25.87. Classmate Melissa Killpatrick (Elk River, Minn.) was close behind, finishing in fourth place with a time of 4:29.59.

Other standout performances for the Phoenix women included Heather Bodin's (Maple Grove, Minn.) third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (56.06), Parker Wolf's (Kohler, Wis.) third-place (1:52.12) and Racheal Weiland's (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) fifth-place (1:52.39) showings in the 200 freestyle and Carrie Dinelli's (Northbrook, Ill.) fifth-place finish on the 1-meter diving board (253.90).

One day after bursting onto the scene with a record-setting win in the 200 IM, men's freshman Willem Poelmans (Hasselt, Belgium) was at it again on Friday with another dominant performance. Poelmans claimed the 400 IM with a winning time of 3:52.85, smashing the 2003 school record of 4:02.80 previously held by Dan Brzozowski. The time, which was less than a second away from the Horizon League record of 3:52.07, was also good for his second NCAA B-cut of the meet.

Sophomore Ryan Korslin (Rudolph, Wis.) also earned an individual championship, a school record and an NCAA B-cut on Friday, winning the 100 breaststroke in 54.81. The time broke the old school record of 55.11 set by Jason Askew in 2011. Senior Jonathan Lesniak (McHenry, Ill.) was third in the 100 breast, finishing in 55.96.

Willem Poelmans (above) claimed his second individual title and his second school record Friday in the 400 IM

The Green Bay squads return to action for the fourth and final day of the 2013 Horizon League Championships on Saturday, with prelims beginning 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 487.5
2 - Milwaukee 478.5
3 - UIC 464.5
4 - Green Bay 459
5 - Wright State 288
6 - Youngstown State 262
7 - Valparaiso 121.5

Men's Team Scores
1 - Cleveland State 529.5
2 - Milwaukee 486
3 - UIC 468
4 - Green Bay 376.5
5 - Wright State 296
6 - Valparaiso 128

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