Valparaiso University junior Max Penn (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep) broke his own school record twice in the 200 backstroke Saturday, highlighting the Crusaders’ performances on the final day of the Horizon League Swimming Championships in Chicago as their 2016-17 season came to a close.

How It Happened

• Penn, who entered the meet already holding the program’s record in the 200 back (1:51.34), surpassed his own PR by nine-hundredths of a second in the prelims to qualify 11th for Saturday night’s finals. He then touched the wall in 1:50.61 in the final to set a new standard and finish in 11th place.
• Penn was one of two Crusader men to qualify for event finals Saturday, as he was joined by freshman Dylan Ogle (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin). Ogle swam a prelim time of 1:53.05 in the 200 butterfly and then registered a time of 1:52.80 in the finals to place 14th.
• A pair of Crusaders on the men’s side moved up the program’s all-time chart in the 1650 freestyle. Sophomore Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) touched the wall in 11th place with a time of 16:19.33, second-fastest in Valpo history in the event, while sophomore Robert Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wis./Marquette Univ. H.S.) posted a time of 16:29.95 to finish 14th and move into fourth place all-time at Valpo.
• Freshman Peyton Stambeck (Bartlesville, Okla./Bartlesville) approached his PR in the 100 freestyle, finishing the prelims in 47.00 seconds flat – just .28 off of his best time in the event, which ranks fourth in program history.
• Kirar and Penn swam the middle legs of the 400 free relay, joined by freshmen Harrison Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) and Austin Scheer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) to post a time of 3:13.16 to finish in seventh place.
• On the women’s side, freshman Tara Lawson (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) moved into sixth place in Crusader history in the 200 backstroke with a prelim time of 2:12.98.
• Senior Rachel Law (Wayne, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) concluded her Crusader career with a 13th-place showing in the 1650 free with a time of 17:59.29 – just six-tenths of a second off of her PR in the event. Sophomore Betsy Pogue (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff) swam a PR of 19:04.43 in the same event.
• Senior Emily Trimpe (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) swam a season-best time of 2:23.99 in the 200 breaststroke to lead the Crusaders, while freshman Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake County Lutheran) paced Valpo with a time of 2:16.44 in the 200 butterfly and junior Amanda Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) recorded a team-best time of 54.65 seconds in the 100 free.
• Martins, Trimpe and Jenny swam the final three legs of the 400 free relay, led off by freshman Paige Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honor), as the quartet moved into sixth in program history with a time of 3:37.20, finishing in eighth place.
• The Valpo men finished the meet with 148 points to finish in seventh place, while the Crusader women finished in eighth position with 95 points.