The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams traveled downstate on Sunday, competing at the Butler Invitational in Fishers, Ind. For the women, Sunday’s competition served as their final meet prior to February’s MVC Championships.

How It Happened

• Valpo’s best individual finish on Sunday came in the men’s 1650, as freshman Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy) touched the wall fourth with a time of 16:46.62. Fellow rookie Cole Kennedy (Bradenton, Fla./Braden River) placed sixth in the event with a time of 16:56.99, while sophomore Alex Koetter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) completed the mile in 17:11.24 to finish eighth.
• Four different Beacon men led the squad in two events apiece, all of whom had at least one top-ten placement. Freshman Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) boasted a pair of top-ten finishes with his team-best swims, coming in seventh in the 200 IM (1:58.75) and 10^th in the 200 back (2:00.19).
• Sophomore Brendan Stangeland (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) placed sixth in the 200 breast (2:12.90) and led the Beacons as well in the 100 breast (1:00.59).
• Freshman Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) came home seventh in the 200 fly (1:56.98) before later pacing Valpo in the 100 fly (54.25), while fellow rookie Dathan Wolf (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) touched the wall ninth in the 100 back (54.13) and also led Valpo in the 100 free (49.37).
• On the women’s side, freshman Emma Schmidt (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) had the team’s top finish with a pair of 11^th-place showings in the 1650 (18:47.83) and the 500 free (5:26.37).
• Freshman Alice Korwel (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) topped the Valpo contingent in a trio of events Sunday: the 200 fly (2:21.48), the 100 fly (1:03.48) and the 200 IM (2:21.68).
• Three other Valpo women led the team in a pair of events in their respective strokes. Freshman Caroline Gorski (Melrose Park, Ill./Leyden) paced the Beacons in the 200 free (2:06.29) and the 100 free (58.64), senior Sophie Morelock (Milan, Mich./Milan) led the way in the 100 back (1:03.02) and the 200 back (2:13.56) and sophomore Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) was the fastest Valpo swimmer in the 100 breast (1:11.72) and the 200 breast (2:34.67).
• The Valpo men placed fourth out of six teams, accumulating 719 points, while the women were seventh of seven with 371 points.

Next Up

The Valpo men have one final regular season meet, a dual meet with Ball State at the Valparaiso Aquatic Center on Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. The women prepare for the MVC Championships in Iowa City, Iowa — the four-day meet opens on Feb. 15.