GRINNELL, Iowa – The Beloit College swimming and diving teams continued their efforts at the 2026 Midwest Conference Championships held at Grinnell College today. Competing against the region's best, several Buccaneers secured top finishes and set impressive times across a variety of events.
Jeremy Mueller (Loves Park, Ill.) provided one of the weekend's biggest highlights in the Men's 200 Yard Freestyle. The junior surged to a second-place finish in the A-Final with a stellar time of 1:40.21, narrowly missing the top spot in a highly competitive heat.
On the women's side, sophomore Lydia Nordgren (South Beloit, Ill.) delivered a podium performance in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Nordgren claimed third place in the A-Final, touching the wall at 58.43. She later contributed a strong lead-off leg for the women's medley relay.
The Buccaneers showed their endurance in the grueling 400 Yard IM. In the men's B-Final, freshman Jordan Hodges (College Station, TX) secured 14th place with a time of 4:36.89, while teammate Liam Murphy (Minneapolis, Minn.), followed in 16th with a 4:51.73. For the women, Kelsey Gerstler earned an 11th-place finish, clocking in at 5:00.13.
Beloit's breaststroke and backstroke specialists also made their mark during the Saturday finals. Junior Lylah Murrah (North Pole, AK) took 12th place in the Women's 100 Yard Breaststroke with a time of 1:11.95, followed by Norah Owens (Colorado Springs, Colo.) in 18th (1:15.34). In the Women's 100 Yard Backstroke, Sophomore Vivianne Prerost finished 17th with a time of 1:34.03.
The Buccaneers' diving contingent reached the finals in both the men's and women's events. Elsa Gregory placed 6th in the Women's 1-meter Diving with a total score of 324.20. In the Men's 3-meter Diving, Jacob Fuller (Beloit, Wis.) took home 7th place with a final score of 275.40.
Beloit's relay teams demonstrated depth and coordination in the 400 Yard Medley Relays. The men's team of team of Murphy, Torin Schott (Fairfield, CT), Jordan Hodges, and Jeremy Mueller finished 7th with a time of 3:59.83. The women's quartet of Nordgren, Maya Delgadillo (Sioux City, IA), Murrah, and Amelia Pullen (New Orleans, La.) also secured a 7th-place finish, timing out at 4:18.63.
The Buccaneers will wrap up action at the Championships tomorrow. Prelims kick off at 9 am for the final events, the 200 back, 100 free ,200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay and the1650 free.
