Sunday, September 30, 2012

Two Crusaders broke into the program’s all-time top-10 as the Valparaiso men’s swimming and diving team began the 2012-2013 season on Sunday afternoon in Fishers, Ind. in a quad meet hosted by Butler.

The Crusaders dropped all three matchups Sunday, losing 161-59 to Saint Louis, 171-49 to Evansville and 182-38 to Wright State.

A pair of freshmen cracked Valpo’s top-10 all-time in their respective events in their first career meet.  Gonzalo Castro Diaz swam to a runner-up finish in the 400 individual medley, touching the wall in 4:17.50, the fifth-fastest time in Crusader history.  Frederick Jenny recorded a time of 2:14.31 in the 200 breaststroke, moving into seventh on Valpo’s all-time chart in the event.

Senior Guillermo Aguilar added a top-five finish of his own on Sunday, placing fifth in the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.48.  Sophomore Matt King posted an eighth-place finish in the 200 back, covering the distance in 2:05.06.  King, Castro Diaz and Jenny were joined by sophomore Kyle Braun in the 400 medley relay which touched the wall in 3:36.80, good for fourth place.

Braun led the Valpo effort in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.36, while freshman Cody Jones paced the Crusaders’ distance contingent, recording times of 5:24.53 in the 500 free and 11:09.36 in the 1000 free.  Sophomore William Mathe led Valpo in the 100 free with a time of 51.95 and sophomore Phil May posted the Crusaders’ top time in the 50 free (23.53).

Valparaiso returns to the pool to host its Alumni Homecoming meet at the ARC next Saturday, Oct. 6 beginning at 9 a.m.