Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College men's swimming and diving team participated in the Beloit College Midseason Invite, held at the Robert G. Nicholls Natatorium in Beloit, Wisconsin. The team celebrated a victory and achieved notable times over the weekend.

Head coach Chris Sykes expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance, stating, "I am very proud of how our team performed. We showed support for each other, and we raced very hard. This meet demonstrates our potential and highlights what we are capable of achieving."

Cooper Meyer was the standout performer for Illinois College, winning the 1-meter diving event with a score of 359.65.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team, consisting of Scott Sosnowski, Scottie Nicotra, Eli Eberle, and Nathen Trachta, secured second place with a time of 1:30.80—the third-best in school history. They also placed third in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:50.23, marking it as the fourth-best time for the program.

In individual events, runner-up finishes were recorded by Masiliunas in the 200-yard backstroke (2:09.88), Nicotra in the 200-yard IM (2:07.95), and Trachta in the 500-yard freestyle (5:08.89). Cade Emerick followed closely behind Trachta to secure third place in the same event with a time of 5:26.55.

Eberle earned third place in the 100-yard butterfly clocking at 53.91 seconds while Trachta finished fifth at 57.77 seconds.

Nicotra took third place in the 200-yard breaststroke with a timing of 2:27.32 while Meyer finished fourth at 2:28.05.

Xaiver Applegate came fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a timing of 2:20.66 while Eberle claimed fifth place in the 100-yard freestyle finishing at exactly under fifty seconds—49.93.

Looking ahead, Illinois College will compete again on December 7th when they host Beloit at Coultas Natatorium starting from one o'clock p.m.