The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams got the spring 2024 semester off to a winning start on Friday in Terre Haute, Ind., as both squads earned dual meet victories over host Rose-Hulman.

How It Happened

• The Valpo men earned their first win in program history over the Fightin’ Engineers, emerging victorious by a 154-134 final, while the Beacon women rolled to a 189-90 win.
• The women picked up event wins in nine of 12 individual events, as well as both relays.
• Three freshmen on the women’s side recorded two individual wins apiece. Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) led a 1-2 Valpo finish in the 100 back with a winning time of 1:02.89, and then led the Beacons to a sweep of the top three spots in the 200 back with a time of 2:18.52.
• Avery Ball (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) took top honors in the 100 breast (1:13.10) and the 100 fly (1:04.59).
• Olivia Tressler (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) picked up her two victories over the course of the final three individual events, claiming first place as part of a 1-2-3 Valpo finish in the 500 free (5:34.41) before turning around to claim the 400 IM as well (4:52.59).
• Sophomore Emma Schmidt (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) touched the wall first in the 200 fly (2:23.05), freshman Sophie Schoch (Medina, Ohio/Medina) led the way as Valpo took the top four spots in the 50 free (26.43) and freshman Roxanne Adams (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico) was the top half of a 1-2 Valpo finish in the 200 breast (2:36.67).
• The Valpo men earned individual event wins in eight of 12 events, led by three victories apiece by sophomores Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy).
• Martin dominated the freestyle events, touching the wall first in the 200 free (1:45.93), the 50 free (22.10) and the 100 free (48.27).
• Oostman took top honors in both backstroke events, posting times of 54.44 in the 100 back and 2:00.52 in the 200 back. He closed out his trio of individual event wins with a time of 4:21.16 in the 400 IM.
• Sophomore Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy) covered the 1000 free in 10:11.29 to claim that event win, while sophomore Matthew Mantz (Spokane, Wash./Mead) earned a first-place finish in the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.01.

Next Up

Valpo turns around for another meet Saturday, heading to Crawfordsville, Ind. for an 11 a.m. CT start. The men will face host Wabash and UIndy in double dual meet action, while the women will vie with UIndy in a single dual meet.