KENTWOOD, Mich. - The Quincy University men's and women's swim teams put together an outstanding three-day stretch at the Don Kimble Invitational in Kentwood, Michigan, hosted by Davenport University. The men's squad surged to a second-place finish out of seven teams, while the women capped the weekend fifth out of eight teams. Across the meet, the Hawks combined for 19 top-three finishes, eight new team records, and five NCAA B cuts, marking one of the strongest collective showings in program history.
The men opened the meet with a statement performance in the 200 Freestyle Relay, where
Denislav Koykov,
Martiniano Montero,
Kyle Scritchfield, and
Santiago Leiva raced to the top of the podium in 1:21.37, securing one of QU's many victories on the weekend.
Distance standout
Wyatt Walsh continued his strong season with an outstanding showing in the 1650 freestyle, taking first place in 15:38.83, while teammate
Gergely Török joined him on the podium in third (16:19.48). Walsh added another top finish later in the meet with a dominant showing in the 400 IM, where he touched in 3:53.73 to win the event. He also earned a third-place finish in the 500 free (4:33.53).
The Hawks stacked more points in the 400 Medley Relay, where the quartet of
Juri Bauer,
Haniel Kudwoli,
Marcelo Rojas, and Leiva secured second place in 3:18.49, followed closely by
Brendan Worster,
Andrej Golubovic, Montero, and
Lucca Arantes, who earned third (3:21.22).
QU picked up another victory in the 200 Medley Relay, as Bauer, Kudwoli, Montero, and Leiva claimed first in 1:29.15, continuing the relay dominance that carried the men throughout the weekend.
Individually,
Marcelo Rojas delivered multiple strong performances, including a third-place finish in the 200 IM (1:51.27) and third in the 200 butterfly (1:51.69). Bauer added a runner-up finish of his own with a strong swim in the 100 freestyle (55.57), while Worster posted third in the 100 backstroke (51.05).
The sprint group added major firepower as well. Santi Leiva earned second in the 50 freestyle (20.45), with Montero right behind him in third (20.58). In the 200 freestyle, Koykov recorded a runner-up finish with a time of 24.86.
QU closed the meet with a big performance in the 400 freestyle relay, as Koykov, Arantes, Walsh, and Leiva powered to a second-place finish in 3:00.56, capping off a meet full of high-level relay success.
On the women's side,
Olga Pucarevic led the charge with a strong swim in the 100 butterfly, finishing third in 56.43. In the 400 IM,
Laiken Vorthmann continued her steady rise with a podium finish of her own, taking third with a time of 4:38.52.
Both performances contributed to a solid fifth-place team finish and a weekend of growth for a young women's roster.
The Hawks will now turn their attention to GLVC action as they return home to the BOS Aquatic Center for a matchup against Missouri-St. Louis.
