Swimmers from USI and Valparaiso University race to the finish line during the competition Thursday at the USI Aquatic Center. (Photo by Will Kessinger)

The USI men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were victorious in their home opener against Valparaiso Thursday. The teams and fans seemed ecstatic to be back in action.

Both men’s and women’s teams came off a solid season with a lot of potential stemming from the youth on the team. That youth played a crucial role in Thursday’s success. Cameron Kaiser, swimming and diving head coach, and Andy Brown, swimming and diving assistant coach, deserve a great deal of credit and recognition for their work in scouting and building a strong foundation for the USI swimming and diving program.

On the men’s side, three records were broken — two by freshmen. Claiming first and second in the 1,000 freestyle were USI’s Cy Young, freshman distance swimmer, and Jude Winnington, freshman backstroke/butterfly, with Young shattering the previous record by over 12 seconds. Winnington also broke the record for the 400 individual medley and received second in the 200 butterfly.

However, Winnington was not the only Screaming Eagle to place in the 200 butterfly. USI’s Justin Knauf, freshman distance swimmer, and Sam Smith, sophomore butterfly/distance swimmer, also placed first and third in the event. Freshman Luke Rich earned USI two first-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Lane Pollock, junior diver, broke the third record. Pollock beat the record he previously held in the three-meter dive with a score of 273.38.
USI had a final score of 171 compared to Valparaiso University’s 123.

The women’s swimming and diving team displayed absolute dominance, taking home 14 of the 16 events of the day. Caiya Cooper, sophomore freestyle swimmer, and Reagan Holmes, sophomore freestyle/individual medley swimmer, placed in the top two in the 100 and 200 freestyle, with Cooper first in both. Cooper also won the 500 freestyle with Ailyn Zurliene, freshman individual medley/butterfly/freestyle swimmer, and Elizabeth Ketcham, freshman freestyle/butterfly swimmer, seconds behind.

Hayden Shurtz, sophomore breaststroke swimmer, took home first in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
The men’s team was not the only one breaking records. USI’s Anna Bunnell, freshman diver, created a new record in the three-meter dive with her score of 223.65. Bunnell also prevailed in the one-meter dive with a score of 223.65.

USI had a final score of 209, compared to Valparaiso University’s 85.