COLUMBIA, Mo. – ISU swimming coach Duane Sorenson said his No. 1 goal was to get his team to swim lifetime bests.

On Wednesday, at least, his team accomplished that goal.

The Cyclones are sixth after two events with 54 points, but trail a tie for third place by only six points. Texas is tied with Texas A&M for the lead with 74 points.

Iowa State placed fifth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:44.47, which is the fifth fastest ever at Iowa State. Maggie Peterson, Marni Benson, Lindsay Wegner and Cassandra Nelson swam in the relay. Sorenson said Peterson, Benson and Wegner swam lifetime best times.

“The 200 medley relay dropped three seconds of their season-best time,” Sorenson said.

“We had two freshmen, who were a little nervous, but they still went out and swam season bests.”

Texas won the 200 medley relay in a time that was a tenth of a second off of the conference records.

Peterson said her performance makes her excited for later in the meet.

“I felt like my stroke was really on,” Peterson said. “I’m really excited for the 100 backstroke now.”

The Cyclones also placed sixth in the 800 freestyle relay in a time of 7:25.96, which is the second-fastest ever in ISU history. Lauren Breunig, Tami Ritchie, Chelsey Walden and Peterson swam in the relay. Breunig led off the relay in a school record split of 1:47.97, a time that broke the school record by more than two seconds. Sorenson said the team has been invited to the NCAA Championships every year since they began.

“The 800 freestyle relay was fantastic,” Sorenson said. “Lauren [Breunig] punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships tonight.”

Breunig said she had no idea that she broke the school record.

“I really wasn’t even thinking about it,” Breunig said. “I didn’t even know what I swam until my teammates told me, because I couldn’t see the scoreboard.”

Texas A&M won the race, pulling away in a conference record time of 7:09.52.

The Cyclones take to the Mizzou Aquatics Center pool again tomorrow for five events, including the one-meter diving competition.