Not only did Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) and the Valpo men's swimming 800 free relay better program records Friday at the MVC Championships in Evansville, Ind., both swims met the 'A' cut for next month's CSCAA National Invitational Championship, setting up five Beacons to make the trip to Ocala, Fla. for postseason competition next month.
 
How It Happened

• With the 100 IM not being an MVC Championship event, Oostman had one shot at a time trial swim to qualify for the NIC and came through with a time of 51.15, lowering his own program record by nine-hundredths of a second and hitting the 'A' cut for the NIC by four-hundredths of a second.
• In Friday's final event, the Valpo men's 800 free quartet of Evan Curran (Golden, Colo./Golden), Gabriel Corkran (Avondale Estates, Ga./Druid Hills), Nate Bolinger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) made easy work of their own program record from earlier this season, as the team covered the distance in 6:39.51 to make the 'A' cut of the NIC by 27-hundredths of a second.
• The 800 free time bettered that quartet's own program record by 2.82 seconds and was over 11 seconds faster than any other grouping of Valpo swimmers in the event all-time.
• Two of the swimmers involved in the 800 free relay record had swam earlier in the evening in the finals of the 200 fly. Martin finished in 20^th place with a final time of 1:52.16, while Bolinger PRed in both the prelims and the finals Friday, placing 21^st in the final with a time of 1:52.69 to move into fifth in program history in the event.
• Matthew Mantz (Spokane, Wash./Mead) also earned a spot in the finals of the 200 fly, finishing in 24^th place.
• Four of the top five spots in program history in the men's 100 breast were set on Friday, led by Gabe Vasquez (Houston, Texas/Memorial), who PRed twice and ended the day second all-time at Valpo with a time of 56.01, good for 14^th place.
• Carson Parker (Silver Lake, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley) improved upon his third-fastest time in program history with an evening swim of 56.05 to finish in 17^th place, while Luke Snider (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School) was right behind Parker in 18^th place with a final time of 56.31 — fourth-fastest in program history. Ben Mettler (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) placed 19^th in the finals following a prelim swim of 56.41, moving up to fifth all-time at Valpo in the event.
• Caleb Smesko (Green, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) matched Vasquez for the Beacons' top individual finish Friday as he placed 14^th in the 100 back, touching the wall in 49.95 in the 100 back. Dustyn Starkey (New Carlisle, Ind./New Prairie) PRed twice in the same event Friday, ending the day in fourth place all-time at Valpo with a time of 50.67 in the final, good for 18^th place.
• On the women's side, three Beacons qualified for finals in the 100 breast. Natalie Eaton (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) and Roxanne Adams (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico/Homeschooled) finished tied for 19^th with matching final times of 1:07.80, after Adams had moved up to ninth in program history in the event in the prelims with a time of 1:07.50. Brianne Flikkema (Bowling Green, Ky./Greenwood) finished 24^th in the same event as well.
• Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) paced the Valpo contingent in the prelims of the 200 fly with a time of 2:10.96, while Sophie Schoch (Medina, Ohio/Medina) did the same in the 100 back with a time of 59.07.
• The women's 800 free relay team — consisting of Audrey Morgan (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook), Ally Unruh (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap), Una Dizdarevic (Bloomingdale, Ill./Lake Park) and Majo Suarez de la Fuente (Mexico City, Mexico/ITESM Preparatoria Tec Campus Santa Fe [Bethel]) — moved into fifth in program history with their time of 7:48.88 in the day's final event.
• The Valpo men sit in eighth place after the third day of competition with 290 points, while the women are in ninth place with 185 points.

 
Next Up
Valpo closes out the 2026 MVC Championships on Saturday — prelim swims begin at 10:30 a.m. and final swims start at 5:30 p.m. The women's heats of the 1650 free will take place after the prelims, while the men's 1650 free heats will occur prior to the evening finals.