Numerous Valpo swimmers found their way into the program’s record books on Saturday as the Beacons concluded the A3 Performance Invitational in Carbondale, Ill.

How It Happened

• The most prolific race from Valpo’s record book standpoint was easily the men’s 1650. Leading the way in that event was freshman Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy), who placed fourth with a time of 16:32.79 — sixth-fastest in program history. Helmboldt’s 1000 split was 10:05.32, a time which is good for eighth in program history in the 1000 free as well.
• Helmboldt was one of four Valpo men to set top-10 PRs in the 1650 on Saturday. Sophomore Alex Koetter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) improved on his PR with a seventh-place finish in a time of 16:41.29, seventh-fastest in Valpo history, while freshman Cole Kennedy (Bradenton, Fla./Braden River) placed ninth, touching the wall in 16:48.45 — good for ninth in program history.
• Freshman Eli Liebmann (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) rounded out the quartet of record-book placements with a 10^th-place finish in 16:51.31 to move into 10^th all-time at Valpo in the mile. While he didn’t improve on his PR, senior Brian Daniels (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) had a strong swim as well to place eighth with a time of 16:47.63
• The women’s 1650 also featured a time which cracked Valpo’s top-10, as freshman Emma Schmidt (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) moved into ninth in program history in the event with a time of 18:12.69, good for a seventh-place finish.
• Two Beacons moved among Valpo’s all-time best in the men’s 200 fly as well. Freshman Tim Mai (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside) closed out his strong meet as he touched the wall in 1:53.25 to finish in ninth place with the third-fastest time in program history. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) moved into 10^th all-time at Valpo with a time of 1:56.59.
• Freshman Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) improved on his PR in the 200 back, as he sits fifth in program history after finishing ninth on Saturday with a time of 1:55.18.
• On the women’s side, sophomore Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) moved into fifth in program history in the 200 breast, coming home in 2:26.57 in the ‘B’ final. Sophomore Bridget Pollard (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) placed 10^th in the 200 fly, completing the race in 2:12.46 – sixth-fastest in program history.
• The men’s 400 free relay missed out on a spot among Valpo’s all-time top-10 by just two hundredths of a second, as the Beacon quartet came home in 3:11.14. Oostman’s 100 leadoff leg of 47.39 was just one hundredth of a second off of cracking Valpo’s 100 free top-10.
• Senior Sophie Morelock (Milan, Mich./Milan) placed ninth on the women’s side in the 200 back with a time of 2:09.60, while sophomore Andrew Berzai (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) earned a 10^th-place finish in the men’s 200 breast with a time of 2:07.81.

Next Up

Valpo competes for the final time this semester as the Beacons host Butler and Lewis in a tri-meet at the Valparaiso Aquatic Center on Friday, Dec. 2 starting at 5 p.m.