BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- For the third straight season, the Augustana Vikings men's and women's swimming & diving teams were champions of the IWU Halloween Invite. The Augie men came in first out of five teams with 138 points, 55 ahead of second-place Illinois Wesleyan. The women earned first out of six teams with 145 points, 72 ahead of the second-place Titans.

"We had an incredible day of racing and I could not be more proud of the way both our teams got up and and fought in every race," said head coach Dan Lloyd. "This meet is an extremely challenging competition as there are so many events with not a lot of rest between them.  It showed the strength of our depth and versatility, but more importantly the way our team is a family and is extremely strong when we stand together. Our team showed a lot of heart today and mental toughness which will help us in February at our conference championship."

On the men's side, the Vikings won all but two events. Carter Lavold highlighted the day with a win in the 200-yard fly, breaking the all-time pool record with a time of 1:55.75. The time was nearly 14 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Elsewhere, the Vikings boasted the top five spots in the 100-yard freestyle, led by Kacper Cebula's winning time of 49.13. Gavin McCorry was the champion of the 200-yard fly in 1:50.13, also winning the 200 backstroke with a mark of 1:59.45. Evan Lopez and Michael Garland secured the top two spots of the 200 breaststroke event, with Lopez clocking a time of 2:16.22 to grab first. 

In relays, the Vikings took first in the 500 free as Bjorn Sievert, Cesar Castillo, Sam Kulisek, and Gavin McCorry ended with a time of 4:22.95. The team of Hunter Craft, Lavold, and Cebula claimed first in the 300-yard fly relay with a mark of 2:40.73 and Dante Rinaldi, Castillo, and McCorry came in first in the 300 backstroke relay in 2:49.14. In the 300 backstroke relay, Garland, Lopez, and Cebula won with a time of 3:04.63. The Vikings also notched first in the 200-yard medley relay as Rinaldi, Albert Buvary, Cebula, and Sievert clocked a time of 1:38.55. Matthew Meyer, Castillo, and Cebula also won the 300-yard medley, while Cebula, Buvary, Sievert, and McCorry also won the 200 free. 

On the women's side, the Vikings won all swimming events. Augie took the top four spots in the 100 freestyle, led by Kendle Mihm in first with a mark of 55.43. Mara Walker was the winner of 200-yard freestyle with the only sub-two minute time, also winning the 200 backstroke in 2:11.81. Bella Casanovas and Macy Ahlgren went one and two in the 200 fly, while Brooke Walker claimed first in the 200 breaststroke after clocking 2:34.81. Giselle Koonce finished first in the 500 free in 5:25.08 to wrap up a successful day across the individual races.

In relays, the Vikings saw a win by in the 500 free from Hailey Glasnovich, Mihm, M. Walker, and Koonce in a time of 4:48.55. The team of Zoe Heiar, Annabella Valenti, and Casanovas  clocked a time of 3:11.74 to win the 300 fly relay, while Glasnovich, Kylee Blaha, and M. Walker snagged a first-place finish in the 300 back relay with a mark of 3:07.02. Ava Kauffeld, Heiar, and B. Walker found success in the 300 breaststroke relay, winning with a time of 3:39.88, while Glasnovich, Kauffeld, Heiar, and Mihm were victorious in the 200 medley with a time of 1:55.36. Augie saw two other relay wins, starting with Glasnovich, Caitlin Stoddard, Mihm, and M. Walker in the 200 free and Petra Evans, Casanovas, and M. Walker in the 300 medley. 

The Vikings will return to Illinois Wesleyan next Saturday for a dual meet with the Titans.