The Valparaiso University swimming teams collected eight total event wins on Saturday evening at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill. However, the Panthers held on as the women fell by a score of 119-84, and the men were outscored 121-84.

"We had some good races, but we are still working on the little things that turn those good swims into great ones. We swim at the Butler Invite tomorrow. This weekend will test our endurance and ability to race multiple days in a row,” said head coach Miriam McGeath.

For the women, seniors Vinnie Zaia (Canton, Mich./Salem) and Amanda Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), along with sophomores Paige Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honors) and Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake Country Lutheran) all won an event. Three juniors on the men’s side touched the wall first. Bob Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wis./Marquette University H.S.) and Mac Sogandares (Reston, Va./South Lakes) each captured a victory, while Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) took home two individual wins.

How It Happened

• The team of Wright, sophomore Emily Baumgartner (Fishers, Ind./Fishers), Martins and Jenny finished second in the 200-medley relay, with a time of 1:56.20.
• For the men in the 200-medlay relay, the squad of senior Max Penn (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.), and sophomores Adrian Acero (Bogotá, Colombia/Agustiniano Salitre), Dylan Ogle (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin) and Harrison Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) combined for a time of 1:41.87, which was also good for second.
• Zaia captured her victory in the 1000-free, when she stopped the clock first with a time of 11:34.97. Freshman teammate Maddie Wilson (Sugar Grove, Ill./Rosary) was right behind with the runner-up finish in 11:46.84.
• In the men’s 1000-free, Bretl was first to the wall with a time of 10:09.32 grabbing the first win for the men.
• Another triumph came in the women’s 200-free, after Wright went just under two minutes at 1:59.74 for the fastest time in that race.
• Following that up was Sogandares, taking the lead to the end when he touched first in 1:46.30 for the men’s 200-free.
• The Crusaders were on a roll when Martins was not to be outdone in the 50-free. She captured the win in 26.01, just ahead of freshman teammate Mariah Sturdivant (Chicago, Ill./George Westinghouse Prep.) who clocked in at 26.64 for second.
• Kirar found his first victory of the day in the 400-IM where he went 4:16.94, 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
• Freshman Lillia Pogue (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff) found herself second in the 100-fly with a time of 1:03.04.
• Ogle was the second swimmer to touch the wall with a time of 54.68 in the men’s 100-fly.
• In the women’s 100-free, Martins added a runner-up finish coming in at 57.70.
• The men’s 100-back saw Harrison Jenny hold on for second-place in a time of 55.83.
• Amanda Jenny claimed her victory in the 500-free when her time stopped first at 5:30.07.
• The duo of Kirar and Bretl grabbed the top two spots in the men’s 500-free. Kirar collected his second triumph of the meet with a time of 4:56.37. Bretl snuck in just under five minutes in 4:59.24 as the runner-up.
• In the women’s 100-breast, both Baumgartner and Sturdivant tied for second with a time of 1:16.00.
• Concluding the competition was the 800-free relay where the women finished second, coming in at 8:24.23. The foursome consisted of Amanda Jenny, Zaia, sophomore Tara Lawson (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Wright.
• The group of men in the same event also wound up in second. Ogle, Bretl, sophomore Spenser Shaffer (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) and Kirar combined for a time of 7:30.93.

Up Next

The Crusaders will have a quick turnaround as they are back in action Sunday when they compete at the Butler Invite starting at 11 a.m. CT in Indianapolis to close out the regular season.