Ball Record, Numerous Top-10s for Swimming Through Two Days at SIU

Friday, November 10, 2023

The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams have posted numerous times which have cracked the program’s record book through two days of competition at the A3 Performance Invitational in Carbondale, Ill., highlighted by freshman Avery Ball (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) setting the women’s program record in the 100 IM.

How It Happened

Ball posted a new program best in the 100 IM in a time trial swim on Thursday, covering the distance in 1:00.05. She also moved into ninth in program history Thursday evening in the 100 back, opening the Beacons’ 400 medley relay with a 59.52 split.
Freshman Kayley Benway (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) joined Ball in the program’s top-10 in the 100 IM, posting a time of 1:04.32 — eighth-fastest in program history.
Through two days of competition, freshmen Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton), Sophie Schoch (Medina, Ohio/Medina) and Roxanne Adams (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico/Homeschooled) have moved into a pair of Valpo all-time top-10s. Benoit posted a time of 26.96 in a time trial swim of the 50 fly, fourth-fastest in program history, while her Friday morning prelim time of 58.79 in the 100 fly is also fourth-best all-time at Valpo.
Schoch placed 14^th overall on Thursday in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.66, good for eighth in program history, and then moved into ninth in program history in the 100 back with a prelim time Friday morning of 59.74 in the 100 back.
Adams’ time of 30.98 in a time trial swim in the 50 breast was good for second in program history, and she followed on Friday with a 1:08.11 in the prelims of the 100 breast, ninth-fastest all-time at Valpo.
Both of Valpo’s Thursday relay swims made their marks on the program’s record books as well, as the Beacons posted a 200 free relay time of 1:38.49 — eighth-fastest in program history — and a 400 medley relay time of 4:01.48 — also eighth-fastest all-time at Valpo.
Two more individuals cracked the women’s record book on Friday. Freshman Olivia Tressler (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) finished 10^th in the 400 IM, while her prelim time of 4:47.71 was eighth-fastest in program history. Junior Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) posted a prelim time of 1:08.25 in the 100 breast to move into 10^th in program history in that event.
On the men’s side, sophomore Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) had a number of strong swims over the first two days. Oostman matched his PR in the 100 IM with a time of 52.66 which is third-best in program history, was .11 off his own school record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:53.06, moved up to sixth in the 100 back with a leadoff leg of 52.38 in the 400 medley relay and moved into fifth in program history in the 50 back with a leadoff leg of 24.67 in the 200 medley relay.
Sophomore Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) moved up a pair of charts within one Thursday time trial swim. Martin posted a time of 50.97 for the 100 fly, third-fastest in program history, while his 50 split of 23.66 was good for third on Valpo’s 50 fly chart as well.
Other Thursday highlights for the men included freshman Ian Muffett (Zillah, Wash./Zillah) moving into seventh all-time in the 100 IM with a time of 55.11. Sophomore Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy) now ranks ninth in program history in the 500 free after a swim of 4:43.83, while the Beacons’ 400 medley relay touched the wall in 3:28.53, 10^th-fastest in program history.
Junior Andrew Berzai (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) posted Valpo’s top individual finish through the meet’s first two days with a sixth-place showing in the 400 IM, touching the wall in 4:08.76.
Sophomore Tim Mai (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside), who ranks fourth at Valpo in the event, narrowly missed his PR in the 100 fly with a prelim time of 51.23. Sophomore Luke Snider (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School) set a PR in the prelims of the same event with a time of 51.91, improving upon his ninth-best time in program history in the event.