The Valpo men's swimming team earned its second consecutive dual meet victory on Friday evening as the Beacon men and women competed against Bethel in Elkhart, Ind.
 
How It Happened

• The Valpo men bookended Friday night with relay victories. To open things up, the quartet of Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy), Carson Parker (Silver Lake, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley), Garrett Hoppman (Midland, Texas/Midland) and Will Schenk (Tulsa, Okla./Holland Hall) touched the wall first in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:37.54.
• To close the meet, Parker anchored Valpo's winning 200 free relay which also featured Luke Snider (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School), Ian Muffett (Zillah, Wash./Zillah) and Owen Cullinan (Cumming, Ga./South Forsyth) completing the race with a time of 1:29.09.
• In addition to his relay swim, Cullinan paced the Beacons in a pair of events Friday evening. He took top honors in the 200 back with a time of 2:08.10, leading a 1-2-3 Beacon finish, and also led Valpo with a time of 1:51.11 in the 200 free.
• Matthew Mantz (Spokane, Wash./Mead) also led Valpo in two events on Friday. The junior claimed first place with a time of 1:59.42 in the 200 fly and was the fastest Beacon in the 1000 free as well, coming home in 10:15.73.
• Oostman headlined a sweep of the top four positions in the 400 IM as he touched the wall in 4:19.25.
• Parker and Snider earned event victories in the sprints as well — Parker claimed the 50 free with a time of 22.28, while Snider posted a first-place finish with a time of 48.76 in the 100 free.
• Swimming shorthanded on Friday due to squad illness, the women's team had eight different swimmers lead the way in the nine individual events. Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) was the lone swimmer to pace the Beacons in two events, winning the 200 breast in 2:29.04 and also pacing the team with a time of 56.18 in the 100 free.
• Fiona Merritt (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon del Oro) recorded a second-place finish in the 1000 free.
• The men's team earned a 132-95 victory over Bethel for its third dual meet victory of the season. The women's team dropped a 138-67 decision.

 
Next Up
Valpo continues a busy stretch before pre-MVC championship tapering on Sunday as it heads to Fishers, Ind. for the Butler Invitational. The event is slated for an 11 a.m. CT start.