The Illinois Wesleyan University swimming and diving teams saw strong performances on the third day of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship at the RecPlex Aquatic Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, on February 20.
Sophomore Isabella Cano led the Titans by winning the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.87 seconds. Freshman Abby Schnittker finished just behind Cano, securing second place with a time of 59.90 seconds. Both athletes earned All-CCIW honors for their efforts. Senior Natalie Porter had previously won the 500-yard freestyle earlier in the meet.
In addition to Cano and Schnittker’s podium finishes, freshman Ellen Hoover placed sixth in the same event with a personal-best time of 1:00.69.
The Titans also advanced two swimmers to the ‘A’ final in the women’s 100-yard backstroke. Senior Kayleigh Kuschewski finished fourth with a time of 1:01.01, while junior Sam Borre took fifth at 1:00.18.
On the men’s side, sophomore Tate Thomas achieved a season-best performance in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing fourth with a time of 1:42.98—more than a second faster than his preliminary swim.
For the women’s team, Porter placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle finals with a time of 1:57.51. Junior Claire Paule won her consolation heat with a career-best time of 2:02.29, while sophomore Julia Jozwiak was tenth overall after cutting nearly four seconds from her preliminary swim to finish at 2:02.66.
Senior Jay Jenkins posted a seventh-place finish in the men’s 100-yard backstroke finals after swimming a career-best during preliminaries.
Other notable results included sophomore Jacob Nacional winning the ‘B’ final of the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.75 and sophomore Caroline Stenger placing thirteenth in the women’s 100-yard backstroke with a personal-best performance.
The Illinois Wesleyan Titans women’s swimming and diving program is based in Bloomington, Illinois, where it hosts events at Fort Natatorium (official website). The program competes as part of NCAA Division III athletics within the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (official website). The roster includes student-athletes from all undergraduate years (official website).
The championship meet will conclude on February 21 with fourteen remaining events scheduled throughout Saturday.
