Morningside won 11 of the 14 events to topple Nebraska Wesleyan in a women’s swim dual.

Morningside College’s women’s swimming team opened the 2016-17 season in impressive fashion by winning 11 of 14 events to topple Nebraska Wesleyan University 167-71 in Saturday’s dual in Lincoln, Neb.

The host Prairie Wolves defeated Morningside 167.5-76.5 in the men’s dual.

Morningside had three multiple event winners in the women’s dual and the three swimmers also helped lead the Mustangs to triumph in the 200-yard medley relay.

Evelyn Edge, a senior from Genoa City, Wis., doubled in the 100 and 200-yard freestyles. Edge won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 57.89 seconds for a victory margin of five seconds and won the 200-yard freestyle in 2:03.75 for a winning margin of almost five seconds.

Veronica Mullen, a sophomore from Omaha, Neb., won both backstroke events. Mullen swam a winning time of 1:07.05 in the 100-yard backstroke and dominated the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:20.36 to win by almost nine seconds over runner-up Carly Wahlmeier of the Prairie Wolves.

Suzanna Gonzalez, a junior from Trabuco Canyon, Calif., showed her versatility with winning times of 26.27 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and 1:03.08 in the 100-yard butterfly.

Mullen, Gonzalez, and Edge combined with Jessyca Huff, a freshman from Castle Rock, Colo., to win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:58.84.

Huff was also the runner-up in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:46.12.

Morningside’s other individual champions were: Ally Hecht, a freshman from Leavenworth, Kan., with a time of 12:03.25 in the 1000-yard freestyle; Carly Johnson, a sophomore from Kansas City, Kan., with a time of 2:40.76 in the 200-yard butterfly; Tracy Gates, a senior from Escondido, Calif., with a time of 5:40.74 in the 500-yard freestyle; and Alisia Woodward, a sophomore from Waterloo, Iowa, with a time of 5:22.85 in the 400-yard individual medley.

Hecht also finished second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:51.43, while Johnson added a runner-up finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 5:27.02.

Connor Bjellum, a freshman from Fargo, N.D., made a sparkling collegiate debut for the Mustang men. Bjellum, a North Dakota prep state champion in two individual events and two relay events last year for Fargo South-Fargo Shanley-Oak Grove-Park Christian High School, had both of Morningside’s event victories in the men’s dual. Bjellum won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.11 seconds and triumphed in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:45.94.

The Mustangs will host Iowa Lakes Community College in a home dual on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Results