SAN ANTONIO, TX- Freshman Amanda Chils (Lakeland, FL/George Jenkins) became the fourth Wheaton College synchronized swimmer in the last six years to win the C figures competition during the U.S. Collegiate Championship, and the Lyons placed among the top 10 squads for the 21st consecutive season when the three-day event came to an end on Saturday in Davis Natatorium.

Wheaton took ninth out of 22 scoring schools with 33.5 points, edging out regional foe Keuka College and its 31.5 points. The Ohio State University won the meet for the 25th time, tallying 98 points. The championship is an open-class meet, combining competition from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and NAIA colleges and universities.

Chils notched 64.381 points during her C figures victory, pacing a 57-athlete field while outdistancing the runner up by 0.549 points, nearly matching the 0.579-point gap between the second- and fifth-place competitors. Freshman Rachel Cordo (Wayzata, MN/Wayzata) tied for 17th, while classmate Anastasia Hare (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Seminary) took 21st.

Among 53 more athletes, senior Sharada Strasmore (Weston, CT/Weston) captured 11th in B figures with 68.117 points, while freshman Christiana Butera (San Diego, CA/Academy of Our Lady of Peace) was 16th at 66.634. Junior Jenna Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden) came in 29th during the event.

In the A figures portion of the meet, junior Laura Montes (San Juan, PR/Academia San Jose) took 31st with 76.691 points after coming in 43rd at last year's championship. Montes also had Wheaton's top showing in the routines segment of the meet, tying for eighth among 12 finalists in solo, totaling 83.500 points to match a Keuka swimmer.

The Lyons' team routine, performed by Butera, Chils, Cordo, Hare, Montes, Strasmore and Swinkin, earned 85.083 points and a 10th-place finish, edging out Keuka's 11th-place team, which received 85.000 points. In duet, Butera and Chils were among 12 finals qualifiers, totaling 82.667 points during a 12th-place showing, while Butera, Chils and Montes took 13th in the trio semifinals, narrowly missing out on being among the 12 teams that competed in the final.

Should Wheaton have qualifiers, the next competition for Lyon athletes would be on April 30, as the three-day U.S. National Championship kicks off at Stanford University.