GRINNELL, Iowa – The Beloit College Buccaneers swimming and diving teams concluded their season this past weekend at the 2026 Midwest Conference Championships, hosted by Grinnell College.
Beloit's highest finish of the day came from Jeremy Mueller (Loves Park, Ill.). Mueller took fourth in the Men's 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 45.75 seconds.
In the grueling 1650-yard freestyle, Beloit showed great resilience. On the women's side, senior Lucy Monnig (Beaverton, Ore.) led the way, clocking a time of 19:49.21 to secure a 14th-place finish. For the men, freshman Jordan Hodges (College Station, TX) completed the mile in 18:26.53, earning 17th place overall.
The Buccaneers were well-represented in the B-Finals of several specialty strokes. Beloit's strongest individual showing came in the butterfly. Junior Lylah Murrah (North Pole, AK) took 12th place in the women's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:27.62. For the men, Hodges returned to the pool to claim 18th place, touching the wall in 2:11.60. Sophomore Lydia Nordgren (South Beloit, Ill.) delivered a standout performance in the sprints, finishing 10th in the women's 100-yard freestyle with a final time of 55.53. Freshman Liam Murphy (Minneapolis, Minn.) represented the men in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 15th place with a time of 2:17.25. Sophomore Kelsey Gerstler earned points for the women's team in the breaststroke, finishing 16th in the 200-yard final with a time of 2:38.12.
The championships concluded with the 400-yard freestyle relays, where Beloit's depth was on display. The men's team—consisting of Mueller, Torin Schott (Fairfield, CT), Murphy and Hodges—took 7th place with a time of 3:31.69.
The women's quartet of Monning, Amelia Pullen (New Orleans, La.), Gerstler and Nordgren finished in 8th place, posting a time of 3:49.92.
In the final team rankings, the Beloit College men finished in 7th place with 211 points, while the women's team claimed 8th place overall with a total of 246 points. The weekend showcased a bright future for the program, with many of the team's top point-scorers being underclassmen.
