The Valparaiso University swimming teams returned to the pool on Saturday after the winter break to welcome Lewis University on Senior Day.

With two victories on the day for the Crusaders, sophomore Paige Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honors) led the way for the women. Lewis came away victorious on the women’s side by a margin of 121-78, and beat the Valpo men by a final score of 126-74.

"This meet was an opportunity for the team to learn to swim fast even when they are tired. We are coming off our winter training and they have worked very hard for the last week and a half. This meet was a great way to complete that part of our training. They got up on the blocks and raced. I'm excited to see what the team can do when they are more rested,” said first-year head coach Miriam McGeath.

How It Happened

• The quartet of sophomores Tara Lawson (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Emily Baumgartner (Fishers, Ind./Fishers), along with freshman Lillia Pogue (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff) and senior Amanda Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) combined for second place in the women’s 400-medley relay in a time of 4:16.16.
• The men also wound up second in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:44.79. The group was made up of senior Max Penn (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.) leading off, then three sophomore classmates: Adrian Acero (Bogotá, Colombia/Agustiniano Salitre), Dylan Ogle (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin) and Spenser Shaffer (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte).
• In the longest race of the day, junior Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) swam to a runner-up finish in the 1000-free, just under the 10-minute mark at 9:59.56.
• Wright collected her first win of the meet in the 200-free, touching the wall before anyone else in a time of 2:01.80.
• The women grabbed second and third-place finishes in the 50-free, when Amanda Jenny and sophomore Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake County Lutheran) stopped the clock at 26.06 and 26.17, respectively. Jenny was only three hundredths behind first.
• Sophomore Harrison Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) sprinted into third-place for the Valpo men in the 50-free, coming in at 22.85.
• In the 200-IM, Lawson touched the wall with a time of 2:25.21, which was good for third-place overall.
• Junior Mac Sogandares (Reston, Va./South Lakes) added a runner-up finish in the 200-IM when he clocked in just .23 behind first at 2:03.23.
• The women’s 100-free saw a 1-2-3 Crusader finish. Wright snagged her second victory, when she found the wall first with a time of 56.44. Not too far behind was teammate Amanda Jenny who came in at 57.35 for second and Martins in a time of 58.65, which was good for third.
• Harrison Jenny came in third in the 100-free for the men with a time of 50.66.
• In the men’s 100-back, Penn found himself second overall after coming in at 56.11.
• With a time of 5:43.15, Lillia Pogue grabbed a third-place finish in the women’s 500-free.
• Kirar was able to collect another second-place finish, this time in the men’s 500-free with a time of 4:54.28.
• Another runner-up finish came in the women’s 100-breast when Baumgartner found the wall in 1:14.53.
• Sogandares came in second in the 100-breast, when he stopped the clock at 1:02.92 for the Crusader men.
• In the final event of the day, the 400-free relay, the Valpo women wound up third with a time of 3:56.11. The squad was made up of Martins, freshmen Megan Lugar (Fisher, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and Mariah Sturdivant (Chicago, Ill./George Westinghouse Prep.) and Wright as the anchor.
• The men held on for a runner-up finish in the 400-free relay with swims from Sogandares, sophomore Austin Scheer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard), senior Jake Villasenor (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) and Harrison Jenny for a total time of 3:21.65.

Up Next

In the final weekend of regular season competition, the Crusaders will travel to Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill. on Saturday, Jan. 20. Valpo will then make their way to Indianapolis the following day where they will participate in the Butler Invite on Sunday, Jan. 21.