Valparaiso junior men’s swimmer Gonzalo Castro Diaz (Mexico City, Mexico) and sophomore women’s soccer forward April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) have been named the athletic department’s Student-Athletes of the Month for October.

Castro Diaz got his junior campaign in the pool off to a strong start, posting a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly and a sixth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke at the Butler Invitational, moving into tenth in Crusader history in the latter event.  He now ranks among Valpo’s all-time top-ten in six individual events.  Castro Diaz followed with a pair of top-20 finishes at the highly competitive Indiana Intercollegiates.  He closed out the month with victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly and a second-place finish in the 400 IM in a dual meet against Cleveland State, improving upon his second-best time in program history in the 200 butterfly.

Cronin enjoyed a stellar month offensively in helping to lead the Crusader women’s soccer team to a perfect 7-0-0 record in October as the team clinched the Horizon League regular season title.  The sophomore found the back of the net five times over the seven games, giving her a team-best seven goals on the season.  Four of her five goals in October came within Horizon League play, including a match-winning goal in a key league win over 14-time defending regular season champion Milwaukee.  She also scored an early insurance goal in the regular season finale at Green Bay to preserve the perfect league record.