The Valparaiso men’s swimming team has set a pair of program records through the first two days of the Calvin Winter Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich. and enters the final day of action in sixth place.

The Crusaders have tallied 130 points through two days of action to sit in sixth place.  Grand Valley State leads the team standings with 487 points.

Freshmen Gonzalo Castro Diaz (Mexico City, Mexico) and Frederick Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) have both already set new program records at this weekend’s meet.  Castro Diaz set a new mark in the 200 butterfly with a time of 4:08.74 in the 400 individual medley, good for a fourth-place finish.  Meanwhile, Jenny posted a new record of 57.23 seconds in prelims to qualify for the finals in the 100 breaststroke, where he eventually finished in sixth place.

Both rookies also cracked Valpo’s top-ten in another event as well through the first two days of action.  Castro Diaz narrowly missed qualifying for the finals in the 200 butterfly, but swam to a ninth-place finish in the consolation final with a time of 1:56.78, fifth-fastest all-time at Valpo.  Jenny moved into ninth place in Crusader history in the 400 individual medley, swimming as an exhibition swimmer in the prelims and touching the wall in 4:20.65.

Another individual cracked the Crusaders’ all-time chart individually on Friday, as sophomore Matt King (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) moved into sixth place in Valpo history in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.88 seconds in the bonus final, good for a 17^th place finish.  Senior Guillermo Aguilar (San Salvador, El Salvador/Colegio Internacional de San Salvador [Cal State Northridge]) earned a spot in the consolation finals of the 200 butterfly with a prelim time of 1:59.45, narrowly missing a chance to move up Valpo’s chart in the event and eventually finishing 14^th in the consolation finals.

Sophomore Kyle Braun (McHenry, Ill./West) earned a spot in the consolation finals of the 50 free with a prelim time of 21.99 seconds, eventually finishing in 14^th place, while freshman Atolo Tuinukuafe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) finished 16^th in the 100 breaststroke after qualifying for the consolation final with a time of 1:01.11 in the prelims.  Braun was also Valpo’s top swimmer in the 200 free with a prelim time of 1:49.86, while freshman Cody Jones (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley) led the Crusaders in the 1650 free with a time of 18:18.22.

Two of the Crusader relays have already cracked Valpo’s all-time top-three in their respective events.  The 400 medley squad of King, Jenny, Castro Diaz and Braun touched the wall in 3:29.66, second-fastest in program history and good for a sixth-place finish.  Meanwhile, Thursday evening saw the team of Jenny, Castro Diaz, Braun and sophomore Fernando Aguilar (San Salvador, El Salvador/Colegio Internacional de San Salvador) place sixth in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:06.03, third-fastest in Crusader history.

Valparaiso concludes the three-day Calvin Winter Invitational on Saturday.