Brother-sister duo helps Missouri swimming jump to lead at Mizzou Invite

Kylie Dahlgren didn’t watch her younger brother’s pre-race introduction. Instead, she worked on her backstroke. Moments later, when Jack dove in the water for the 500-yard freestyle, she swam butterfly.

It’s hard to pay attention to a race when you’re competing in the next event, but Kylie found a way to keep tabs on 500 from the warm-up pool. The Missouri senior would glance at the scoreboard when she took a moment to rest. She’d peek over the barrier separating the warm up and racing pools to catch a few of his strokes.

Kylie’s head was submerged when Jack finished the race, but she quickly learned that the freshman finished in second place with a personal best time of 4 minutes, 19.56 seconds. She only had to wait three heats to make a statement of her own. She won the 200-yard individual medley by more than 2 seconds.

“It’s awesome to see that, just seeing her do awesome and knowing that it’s the product of all the training she’s put in here, and that will one day be me being in her place,” Jack Dahlgren said. “I strive to follow the success she’s had.”

The Dahlgrens helped Missouri jump to a lead on day one at the three-day Mizzou Invite, a mid-season invitational the Tigers use to earn NCAA qualifying times.

Swimmers rest going into the meet — a process called tapering that often leads to best times — and wear racing suits, which are tighter and extend to the swimmers’ knees. Though NCAA Championships aren’t until March, athletes can notch qualifying times at any point in the season.

Missouri’s team voted Kylie one of three captains of the women’s team, and she qualified for 2018 NCAA Championships as a junior. She said she felt happy with her time Thursday, though she finished a bit off her personal best.

“Kylie is obviously a captain for the women’s team, and Jack is already trending that way,” interim coach Andrew Grevers said. “Who knows what happens three years from now.”

Grevers is coaching in place of Greg Rhodenbaugh, who Missouri placed on administrative leave Oct. 29. The Star reported later that week that the university’s Title IX Office opened an investigation into the coach.

Jack and Kylie grew up swimming for the same club team, but they only spent about a year in the same training group before Kylie left for college. At Missouri, they occasionally share a lane with each other, which gives Kylie the chance to beat her brother when they practice breaststroke, his worst stroke.

“Having my sister beating me in breaststroke, I can’t let that happen,” Jack said with a smile. “That gives me a lot of motivation.”

Though he might not possess high-level breaststroke abilities, Jack seems poised to play a vital role on Missouri’s team over the next three seasons. The top-50 recruit felt good about his showing in the 500-yard freestyle Thursday, and he hopes to make NCAA Championships in the 200-yard freestyle or 200-yard backstroke, his best events.

The men’s team scored 523 points on the opening day of the Mizzou Invite, nearly 300 more than second-place BYU, and the women (407.50) lead second-place Arkansas by over 100.

Three Tigers notched individual times that would’ve qualified for last year’s NCAA Championships: junior Nick Alexander (200-yard individual medley), senior Annie Ochitwa (100-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle) and junior Haley Hynes (100-yard backstroke, 50-yard freestyle). Each of their times will likely qualify for this year’s NCAA Championships.

Missouri also earned NCAA qualifying times in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay and the men’s and women’s 400-yard medley relay.

Grevers said Kylie joining Missouri’s team influenced Jack to consider the school. The freshman said he trusted the positive comments his sister made about the team, and he’s been happy with his experience so far.

The Dahlgrens hail from Victoria, Minnesota, and they watch the Minnesota Vikings at Kylie’s house every weekend.

“We actually haven’t fought at all,” Kylie said. “That might be my biggest surprise. We’ve been getting along really awesome.”

Grevers said the Dahlgrens have similar personalities: They share a dry sense of humor, high energies and compassion for their teammates. On Thursday, they also shared success in the water.

“They both had great days,” Grevers said. “I think they’re both hungry for more.”