ONU SWIM & DIVE GETS BACK IN THE POOL AT DON KIMBLE INVITE

KENTWOOD, Mich. – Competing for the first time in over a month, the Olivet Nazarene University men's and women's swimming & diving teams took on multiple NCAA Division II opponents at the three-day Don Kimble Invite this past weekend at the Kentwood Aquatic Center.

The ONU women tallied 531 points to take fifth place at the eight-team event, while the Tiger men racked up 537 points to place fourth out of eight at the Don Kimble Invite.

Julie Vega had a stellar weekend in the pool for the ONU women, winning two individual events and placing third in another. The senior out of Barrington, Ill., touched the wall first in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.69) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:18.62) before taking third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.21.

Halle Briner earned a pair of runner-up finishes at the Don Kimble Invite, placing second in both the 200-yard IM (2:07.35) and the 100-yard freestyle (52.90). Paige Howell touched the wall in the 59.49 to place sixth in the 100-yard backstroke, while Ashley Parry placed seventh in the 100-yard butterfly.

ONU placed fifth in two relays; Briner, Taylor King, Mia Points, and Vega in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:37.98), and Briner, Katelyn Inman, Kayla Deubel, and Vega in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:34.41). Briner, Deubel, Inman, and Grace Barnhart teamed up to take seventh in the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:02.85).

On the men's side, Jack Fries touched the wall in 46.02 to place runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle. He also placed seventh in the 200-yard IM (1:55.92). Porter Hoffman excelled in the sprint events, taking sixth in the 100-yard freestyle (46.89) before earning a runner-up placement of his own with a time of 21.12 in the 50-yard freestyle.

Mason Beall made the A-finals in a pair of events, placing seventh in the 500-yard freestyle (4:40.43) and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:43.55). Ollie Shead placed sixth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 50.70 while Rafael Santiago took seventh in the 200-yard butterfly (1:56.91).

The ONU men raced well in the relays. The quartet of Fries, Shead, Hoffman, and Beall teamed up to place fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:24.89) before earning another fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:07.44). Ethan Holwerda replaced Shead on the 800-yard freestyle relay to earn seventh place (7:02.85).

The Tigers will be back in the pool in two weeks to take on the Wheaton Invite Dec. 1-2 at the Lederhouse Natatorium in Wheaton, Ill.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu