A day full of some of the best swims in program history for the Valpo men’s swimming team was highlighted by a program-record swim from sophomore Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) in the 100 IM as the Beacons opened the 2024 MAC Championships Wednesday from Carbondale, Ill.

How It Happened

• The day’s action opened with time trial swims midday, and it was there that Oostman posted his record-setting time. The sophomore completed the 100 IM in 51.54, lowering his PR by over a second and breaking the previous program record by .31.
• The lone event finals on Wednesday evening were a pair of relays, and they resulted in four top-five times in program history. The night began with the 200 medley relay, and the quartet of Oostman, freshman Ian Muffett (Zillah, Wash./Zillah), sophomore Luke Snider (Germantown, Tenn./Memphis University School) and sophomore Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) covered the distance in 1:32.36, moving into third in program history.
• Oostman completed his opening 50 back leg in 23.75, second-fastest in program history for that distance.
• Martin, freshman Sean Toolis (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East), junior Andrew Berzai (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) and sophomore Tim Mai (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside) got the nod for the Beacons in the 800 free relay and finished with a time of 6:54.30, fifth-fastest in Valpo history.
• Martin’s opening 200 free leg of 1:41.25 was over two and a half seconds faster than his previous 200 free PR and moved him into second place in program history in the event.
• Elsewhere in the day’s time trial swims, Snider covered the 100 breast in 57.71, fifth-best in program history and improving his PR by better than two and a half seconds. His 50 breast split was 27.18, seventh-fastest in program history.
• Berzai narrowly missed improving his PR in the 200 breast which ranks fourth all-time at Valpo, posting a time of 2:05.37. He did register a 100 breast split of 58.70 to crack the top-10 chart in that event.
• The Beacons finished the day with 48 points in the team standings.

Next Up

The second day of action from the MAC Championships begins with prelim swims at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Event finals begin at 6 p.m. Thursday evening.