Naperville, Ill. -- After starting 2025 with consecutive home meets, the Wheaton swimming teams left campus this morning for nearby Naperville to take part in the North Central Invitational. Competing against three fellow CCIW programs, both Thunder squads came in second place in the four-team field on Saturday. Augustana finished first in both the men's and women's meets with a combined total score of 616, earning 325 points on the men's side and 291 in the women's competition. The Wheaton women's team missed out on first place by just 25 points, registering a total of 266, while the Thunder men tallied 279 points on the day for a combined team score of 545. The hosting Cardinals finished third overall with a combined mark of 225, and Millikin came in fourth via a score of 185. The Wheaton programs will return to Lederhouse Natatorium next Saturday to close out the regular season with their Senior Day dual meet against Augie.
Today's order of events began with a mixed-gender 200 yard medley relay, and Wheaton started the day with a victory courtesy of Jac Cummings, Isaac Chambers,
Tess Boyer, and
Katie Yonan. The quartet combined to post a time of 1:44.15 to narrowly beat out the second-placed Augustana team that registered a mark of 1:44.91.
The Thunder women's team also got to celebrate a win in the first solo race of the day, the 400 yard IM, thanks to
Olivia Wiebe. The junior topped the Wheaton/Augustana-exclusive field with a time mark of 4:56.47 to place first by more than three seconds.
Yonan then collected an individual win to go with her relay success by placing first in the women's 50 yard freestyle on a line of 24.61 seconds. Relay partner Boyer registered a solo victory in the next event, the 100 IM, via a CCIW-best time of 1:01.37, touching the wall 6.3 seconds ahead of
Erin Davis, who earned a runner-up placement in the 12-swimmer field.
The senior Yonan made it three wins on the day when she came in first place in the 100 yard butterfly courtesy of a 59.78 mark, the only swimmer to complete the event with a sub-one minute time and four seconds faster than her second-placed Augustana competitor. Boyer later matched her teammate on three victories for the meet when she topped the podium in the six-woman 100 yard breaststroke via a 1:10.21 time.
Abriel Phelps and
Scottie McKeaney earned third-place finishes in the women's 100 yard backstroke and 500 free, respectively, before Wheaton closed out the meet with another mixed relay win featuring some familiar faces. Yonan, Cummings, and Boyer again combined, this time with newcomer Ben Coley, to win the 200 free relay by nearly two seconds via a total time of 1:32.70.
Wheaton was the only program to send divers to Saturday's meet, and two members from both the men's and women's squads competed on the 1-meter board. Reigning CCIW Diver of the Week
Lara Stamp immediately improved upon her 1-meter score of 413.90 from last week with an impressive 424.95 total today to confirm her spot at next month's NCAA Regional meet. This mark is the best in the CCIW this season and currently ranks 32nd in Division III after 11 dives. Teammate
Isabelle Fitzpatrick earned a total score of 159.60 on the 1-meter board today.
Today's order of events began with a mixed-gender 200 yard medley relay, and Wheaton started the day with a victory courtesy of Jac Cummings, Isaac Chambers,
Tess Boyer, and
Katie Yonan. The quartet combined to post a time of 1:44.15 to narrowly beat out the second-placed Augustana team that registered a mark of 1:44.91.
The Wheaton men's squad then grabbed a win in the first individual event of the day, as well, when Jed Ritchie topped the ten-swimmer 400 yard IM field with a time of 4:10.56.
Ben Coley earned the Thunder's next first-place finish in the sizable field of the men's 50 yard freestyle via a time mark of 22.49, getting to the wall just .03 second ahead of his nearby Augie challenger. Philip Holst topped the podium in the 100 yard butterfly thanks to a mark of 53.41 seconds, and this event was dominated by Wheaton, with Ritchie and Coley going second and third just behind him.
Cummings secured a runner-up placement and a third-place finish in the solo swims on Saturday, coming in second in the 500 yard freestyle courtesy of a 5:07.25 time with teammate Alex Bergsma exactly one second behind him in third place. The Georgia native came in third himself in the 18-swimmer 100 yard IM event via a 55.72 time, making him one of just four competitors to complete the race in less than a minute.
Lucas Edwards earned a third-place finish, as well, when he swam to a 1:51.53 mark in the men's 200 yard freestyle. Josh Elsen secured another third-place showing for the Thunder men in the 100 yard breaststroke event with a 1:02.87 time.
Wheaton then closed out the meet with another mixed relay win featuring some familiar faces. Yonan, Cummings, and Boyer again combined, this time with newcomer Ben Coley, to win the 200 free relay by nearly two seconds via a total time of 1:32.70.
Wheaton was the only program to send divers to Saturday's meet, and two members from both the men's and women's squads competed on the 1-meter board. Representing the men's team, Mateo Anderson tallied a score of 384.05 after 11 dives, and his teammate Josiah Ferguson registered a mark of 114.80.
