The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s swim teams continued their respective 2015-16 seasons, swimming against the Fighting Leathernecks of Western Illinois on Sunday afternoon at the ARC. The men fell to WIU, 162-106, and the women suffered a 174-91 defeat.

How It Happened

• On the men’s side, freshman Dylan Ogle (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin) earned first in the 200-yard butterfly (1:58.37) and added a second-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:02.84) to his list of feats for the day, just missing out on the top-ten for this event.
• Sophomore Robert Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wis./Marquette University H.S) earned the Crusaders’ second first-place finish of the day in the 500-yard freestyle event. The distance swimmer hit the wall at 5:00.00 flat to earn nine points for Valpo. Sophomore Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) received second place in the event as well, just missing his teammate’s mark with a time of 5:00.87.
• Three other Valpo swimmers earned individual second-place finishes: junior Max Penn (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.) in the 100-yard backstroke (55.82), freshman Harrison Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) in the 50-yard freestyle (22.82) and freshman Peyton Stambeck (Bartlesville, Okla./Bartlesville) in the 100-yard freestyle (48.59). Along with the individual swims, the trio were all part of a second-place result in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:29.48), with help from sophomore Mac Sogandares (Reston, Va./South Lakes).
• For the women, freshman Paige Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honor) entered the Crusaders’ all-time top-10 in the 100 backstroke, touching the wall in 1:00.51 to win the event and move into sixth place in program history. Wright also earned a second-place finish in the 100 free with a time of 53.58. Adding to her list of accolades for the Crusaders, senior Rachel Law (Wayne, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) tallied two first-place finishes, both happening in freestyle events. She swam a 5:30.28 in the 500 and an 11:14.01 in the 1,000 event.
• Freshman Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake County Lutheran) had a successful day in the water, earning first and second-place individual finishes and two second-place results in relay events. First-place came in the 100-yard butterfly (1:02.84) and second happened in the 200-yard butterfly (2:21.00). The trio of senior Emily Trimpe (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine), freshman Tara Lawson (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Wright helped Martins receive a second-place notch in the 200-yard medley relay (1:54.35). The next second-place performance came from the 200-yard freestyle relay, Martins, Trimpe, Wright and junior Amanda Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) swam a 1:42.38.

Next Up

The Crusaders continue their homestand this Friday, Nov. 18, against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The meet will begin at 5 p.m. at the ARC Pool.