The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams finished out fall competition on Friday evening in a home meet at the Valparaiso Aquatic Center, as the Beacons welcomed the Lewis men’s and women’s teams and the Butler women’s squad. The night was highlighted by event wins from Garrett Hoppman (Midland, Texas/Midland) and Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy).

How It Happened

• Helmboldt claimed Valpo’s first event victory of the evening, touching the wall first in the 1000 free in 10:04.76. The rookie improved upon his PR in the event, which ranks eighth-fastest in program history.
• Later in the night, Hoppman took top honors in the 100 fly with a time of 52.63.
• The Valpo men also picked up a pair of second-place finishes, as sophomore Brendan Stangeland (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) came home second in the 100 breast with a time of 1:00.32 and sophomore Andrew Berzai (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) posted a runner-up showing in the 500 free, completing the distance in 4:55.73.
• Freshman Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) cracked yet another of the program’s all-time top-10 charts with his mark of 54.05 in the 100 IM, fifth-fastest in program history. Hoppman missed out on the top-10 list by less than a tenth of a second with his time of 56.19 in the same event.
• On the women’s side, Valpo’s best individual finish came courtesy of senior Sophie Morelock (Milan, Mich./Milan), who posted a time of 1:02.47 in the 100 back to place second.
• The Beacons had three third-place finishes on the women’s side as well: freshman Natalie Eaton (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) with a time of 32.70 in the 50 breast, sophomore Bridget Pollard (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) with a time of 1:00.93 in the 100 fly and sophomore Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) with a time of 1:11.22 in the 100 breast.
• Pollard also moved into the top-10 in program history in her fourth different individual event, as she completed the 100 IM in 1:06.19, 10^th-fastest all-time at Valpo.

Next Up

Valpo will break for the holidays before returning to the pool for its first spring semester competition on Friday, Jan. 13 against Rose-Hulman at 5 p.m. The home meet at the Valparaiso Aquatic Center will serve as the program’s Senior Meet.