Courtney Ledbetter (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland [Notre Dame College]) and Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) each set a program record on Friday as the Valpo women's swimming team competed on the third day of action at the MVC Championships in Waukee, Iowa.
 
How It Happened

• Strauss' record-setting swim came in the 'C' final of the 100 breast Friday evening, as the senior covered the opening 50 in 30.16, surpassing the previous program record by four-hundredths of a second. She ended up covering the 100 in 1:05.76, third-fastest in program history.
• Both times bested her PRs set in the morning prelims, when she posted an opening 50 time of 30.67 on her way to a 1:05.83 100.
• Ledbetter bested her own program standard in the 50 fly in a time trial swim, touching the wall in 26.22 — two-hundredths better than her previous best.
• Ledbetter closed the night by leading off Valpo's 200 free relay squad, which also included Bri Keese (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), Sophie Schoch (Medina, Ohio/Medina) and Faith Bargwell (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rockford). The quartet covered the 200 free in 1:37.82, fourth-fastest in program history.
• Natalie Eaton (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) posted a 1:07.54 in the prelims of the 100 breast, improving on her eighth-best time in program history. Later in the day, swimming a time trial in the 50 breast, Eaton touched the wall in 31.04, sixth-fastest in program history.
• Elsewhere in the prelims, Schoch paced the Valpo contingent in the 100 back with a time of 59.49, while Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) posted a team-best time of 59.33 in the 100 fly.
• Emma Schmidt (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) led the Beacons in the 400 IM prelims with a time of 4:44.37, and Caroline Gorski (Melrose Park, Ill./Leyden) recorded a 1:57.38 in the 200 free prelims to top the Valpo lineup.
• Valpo closed the day in ninth place in the team standings.

 
Next Up
The MVC Championships conclude on Saturday. Prelims begin at 10:30 a.m., with finals starting at 6 p.m.