By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships (MEN)
- Dates: Wednesday, February 19–Saturday, February 22
- Location: Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center, Oxford, OH
- Defending Champions: N/A (inaugural event)
- Live Results (Available on MeetMobile)
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide
- Teams: Ball State*, Evansville*, Miami (OH)*, Missouri State*, Southern Illinois*, UIC*, Valparaiso*
- Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
- Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
A controversial disqualification of a record-breaking 200 free relay marred day 3 of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet.
The Salukis foursome of Alex Santiago, Donat Csuvarszki, Willem Huggins, and AJ Terry combined for a 1:17.45, which would have easily won the race by more than a second ahead of Miami, but Csuvarszki was called for an early exchange in spite of the touchpads officially registering a .22 second reaction time.
According to NCAA rules, “If the electronic relay takeoff equipment detects an exchange differential (takeoff pad time minus finish pad time) of –0.09 through +0.09 second inclusive from the manufacturer’s starting point, the decision(s) of the human judge(s) shall not be considered. The determination of the electronic relay takeoff equipment shall be official, with exchange differential of –0.09 through –0.01 second from the manufacturer’s starting point indicating a rules violation and values of 0.00 through +0.09 second indicating a legitimate relay exchange.
While it is unclear as to what the pads’ setpoint is (it ranges from -.05 to 0.00), a .22 reaction time is, visually, pretty easy to see from the naked eye. That equates to approximately a foot-and-a-half at 50 free speeds.
Because the registered reaction time was outside of the setpoints, it would have required dual confirmation from two officials of an early departure. The call was confirmed both by the official directly over the lane and the starter, five lanes away.
While we have seen issues with relay judging pads mar meets before (notably the 2023 Ivy League Championships, where several disqualifications were ultimately overturned), this is the opposite problem. With no other reported concerns over the function of the Relay Judging Pads (RJPs) at this meet, this is the opposite – a call that appears to have been missed by both judges.
See a video of the exchange in question below:
While the video is grainy, it is more than clear enough to capture the below frame where the swimmer in the water Alex Santiago almost has his head on the wall and the swimmer on the block Donat Csuvarszki is clearly still in contact with the surface.
While Santiago’s hand cannot be seen because of the wake, the video in motion combined with how close his head is to the wall paints a pretty clear picture that he had already made contact with the wall by this point of the race.
Another View:
Screenshots
The disqualification was a 46 point swing versus the Miami men, who finished the day with a 113 point lead.
Standings After Day 3:
- Miami University (Ohio) – 569
- Southern Illinois – 452
- Missouri State – 401
- UIC – 325.5
- Ball State – 237.5
- Valparaiso – 113
- Evansville – 79
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Questionable DQ Call Costs SIU a Win and a Record at Missouri Valley Championships