The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams took on UIC and Southern Illinois in a tri-meet Friday afternoon in Chicago, the Beacons’ final competition before the squads’ respective conference championship meets.

How It Happened

• A trio of Valpo swimmers posted fourth-place individual finishes on Friday. On the women’s side, freshman Olivia Tressler (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) touched the wall fourth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:55.70.
• On the men’s side, sophomore Matthew Mantz (Spokane, Wash./Mead) claimed fourth with a time of 10:32.97 in the 1000 free and classmate Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) came home fourth in the 400 IM with a time of 4:11.62.
• Tressler paced the Beacon women in a pair of events, also leading the way for the Valpo contingent with a time of 5:36.88 in the 500 free.
• Junior Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) took fifth place in the 100 free with a time of 54.78 and led Valpo as well with a time of 1:09.34 in the 100 breast.
• Freshman Gretchen Schmierer Knust (Overland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission South) finished fifth in the 200 free, covering the distance in 2:05.97.
• Sophomore Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) led the Valpo men in two individual events, placing fifth in the 100 free with a time of 47.90 while also swimming a team-best time of 21.80 in the 50 free.

Next Up

The men’s and women’s teams will split up for their respective conference championship meets to close out the 2023-24 season. The Valpo women return to action at the MVC Championships in Evansville, Ind. Feb. 21-24, while the men compete at the MAC Championships in Carbondale, Ill. March 6-9.