GRINNELL, Iowa -- Lawrence University diving standout Jackson Bertman took the title on the 1-meter board Friday at the Midwest Conference Championships at Osgood Pool and broke the school record in the process.
    Bertman soared to a score of 442.90, which was 24.60 points better than second-place finisher Owen Pittenger of St. Norbert College. Bertman's score smashed the school record of 422.60, set by Jeff Brown in 2006. The score also qualified Bertman for the NCAA Division III Diving Regional.
    It was the second conference title for Bertman, who took the top spot on the 3-meter board a season ago. He finished second on the 1-meter board in 2023 and earned MWC Diver of the Year honors.
    Bertman's teammate, Calvin Anderson, took sixth in the event with a score of 256.10.
    Led by Bertman, Lawrence is in fourth place in the team standings with 92 points.
    The other top individual finishers on the men's side were Will Phillips and Keegan Mencke. Phillips grabbed sixth place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.56 seconds. Mencke swam to eighth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:02.23.
    Lawrence's 400 medley relay team of Phillips, Leighton Frater, Aaron Harris and Sebastian Stacey finished fourth with a time of 3:33.91.
    On the women's side, Irina Starostin and diver Chloe VandeHey led the way with a pair of fourth-place finishes. Starostin swam to fourth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.69 seconds. VandeHey grabbed fourth on the 3-meter board with a score of 177.80 points.
    Two Lawrence relay teams posted fifth-place finishes. The 200 freestyle relay team of Starostin, Stella Macfarlane, Kiran Jayasinghe and Abigail Herrick took fifth in 1:43.57. The 400 medley relay team of Starostin, Macfarlane, Jayasinghe and Kylie White swam to fifth in 4:16.10.
    Lawrence is in fourth place with 86 points.
    The competition runs through Sunday.