The Valparaiso University swimming teams finished their regular season slate Sunday against a competitive lineup of teams at the Butler Invite hosted by Butler University in Fishers, Ind. The women went up against the Bulldogs, along with Saint Louis, Southern Illinois, Xavier and Youngstown State, while the men battled Ball State, Saint Louis, Southern Illinois and Xavier.

“This concludes our regular season. We just have a few more weeks before conference to clean up our race strategies, starts, and turns. I’m excited to see what the swimmers can do when we taper off,” said head coach Miriam McGeath.

Leading the way for the Crusaders were senior Vinnie Zaia (Canton, Mich./Salem) and sophomore Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake Country Lutheran), each collecting a 13^th-place finish. Sophomore Dylan Ogle (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin) was the top performer on the men’s side, bringing home a sixth-place finish.

How It Happened

• Zaia’s 13^th-place effort came in the grueling mile race, where she clocked in at 19:35.68.
• Junior Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) had a top-ten swim in the mile when he hit the wall tied for eighth with a time of 17:03.16.
• In the men’s 100-back, senior Max Penn (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles Prep.) finished 14^th, after he was timed at 56.57.
• Clocking in at 1:05.55, sophomore Adrian Acero (Bogotá, Colombia/Agustiniano Salitre) finished 15^th in the men’s 100-breast.
• Ogle found the wall sixth in the 200-fly, swimming the race in a time of 1:58.08.
• Martins sprinted to her 13^th-place finish in the 50-free, coming in at a time of 25.92.
• In the women’s 100-free, sophomore Paige Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honors) found herself timed at 56.50, which was good for 15^th.
• Sophomore Harrison Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) also wound up 15^th in the men’s 100-free with a time of 50.60.
• Placing 15^th, as well, was sophomore Tara Lawson (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) in the 200-back, stopping the clock at 2:19.20.
• In the men’s 200-back, senior Grant Girten (Blue Ash, Ohio/Sycamore) found the wall in 2:04.33, which placed him 13^th.
• Coming in with a time of 2:15.40, junior Mac Sogandares (Reston, Va./South Lakes) finished the men’s 200-breast in seventh-place.
• Zaia swam to a 15^th-place finish, this time in the women’s 500-free with a time of 5:37.93.
• The men’s 500-free saw Kirar go 4:58.04 where he was able to hold on for the 12^th
• Sogandares also added a 13^th-place finish in the men’s 200-IM with an effort of 2:04.67.

Up Next

The Crusaders will have a few weeks off to prepare for their respective conference championships. The men will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. where they will compete in the Summit League Championships at the Midco Aquatic Center. The women will head to Iowa City, Iowa for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships at the University of Iowa’s Recreation and Wellness Center Natatorium. Both championships will take place from Feb. 14 – 17.