INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI swimming and diving team got its first taste of Horizon League competition taking on four-time defending champion Oakland. The men's competition came down to the final race but the Jags fell in both meets to the Golden Grizzlies.
In the men's competition, IUPUI led going in to the final race of the night, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Oakland won the race by half a second touching the wall in 3:04.43, right ahead of
Trenton Wolfe who hit the wall at 3:05.19. The third place finish by Oakland's B squad was enough to give the Golden Grizzlies a 150.5 - 149.5 win.
It was a back and forth competition and the Jags got great performances in the pool from junior
Ben Levart and sophomore
Jackson Sandala. Levart won both the men's 500-yard freestyle (9:31.89) and the men's 1,000-yard freestyle (4:32.53). While Levart owned the distance, Sandala owned the sprints winning both the men's 100-yard freestyle (46.09) and 200-yard freestyle (1:40.13).
Other swimmers that took home first-place finishes on the men's side were
Mark Auger in the 200-yard butterfly (1:53.34), and Wolfe in the men's 50-yard freestyle (21.40).
The men's diving competition saw IUPUIÂ star
Krisztian Somhegyi take on defending Horizon League champion Joe Smith from Oakland. Smith got the best of Somhegyi in the 1-meter, winning the event with 334.13 points to Somhegyi's 307.65. Somhegyi earned his victory in the 3-meter with 362.63 points to Smith's 353.33.
The women did not have the same success as the men falling to Oakland 185.5 to 114.5. There were some bright spots for the Jags, especially on the boards. Freshman
Rylee Dahlman continued her strong start to the season winning both the 1-meter (259.35) and the 3-meter (255.08). Finishing right behind Dahlman in both events was #Blaire Wills# with 242.63 in the 1-meter and 251.48 in the 3-meter.
In the pool,
Meagan Ronci won the women's 200-yard freestyle in 1:54.81, and
Carmen Escalante Ruiz won the women's 200-yard butterfly touching the wall in 206.48.
The Jags will be back in the pool tomorrow at the Natatorium with a dual meet against Western Illinois. The meet is schedule to start at 1 p.m. and is free to the public.
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