Geneva, Ohio- The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming and diving teams concluded their trip to the Spire Institute for the 2024 Division II Swimming & Diving National Championship on Saturday, March 16. It was a historic day in northeast Ohio for the Oilers as the women went on to finish tenth in the country, the highest finish in program history and thirteen spots higher than a season ago. Findlay's men ended the week in tenth, the team's third consecutive top-ten finish.

"We finished a very long but very successful week. By far the best performance overall as a program in school history", said head coach Diego Santos. "I'm incredibly proud of everyone and excited about what next year will bring. I truly believe that we can continue making improvements and perform even better. We have a talented team that now has a lot of great experiences and that will play a huge role in the success that's to come."

In total, Findlay garnered 15 individual all-American awards, eight of which were first team and seven of which were second team. The Oilers men also earned all-American in four relays while the women also took all-American in four relays for a grand total of 23 times in which Findlay earned a top-16 finish. 

Senior Tim Stollings was the Oilers most decorated athlete of the week, bringing home two first team all-American awards, including a national championship, and one second team award. He also earned all-American in four different relays. 

On the women's side, it was sophomore Emily Mears-Bentley who earned first team all-American in three individual events to go along with one second team effort. She also earned all-American status in three relays.

Saturday got started with 100 free which saw Mears-Bentley finish the morning session with the fifth-best time, a program record 50.08. In the evening's finals, swimming in her last individual event of the season, Mears-Bentley finished seventh, recording a time of 50.38. 

Junior Sasha Melnyk took to the pool next for Findlay in the morning trials, in which she finished 23rd in the 200 back with a time of 2:02.26.

In the 200 breast, sophomore Katie Susi recorded a time of 2:17.65, the twelfth-fastest time in the prelims, qualifying for the consolation finals. Later in the evening, Susi had a time of 2:17.94 which got her a tenth place finish, good for second team all-American.

The same event for the men featured a pair of Findlay athletes as senior Luca Chiandussi and senior Marko Priednieks took to the water. Chiandussi finished 22nd with a time of 2:01.72 while Priednieks qualified for the consolation final recording a time of 1:58.06. The finals saw Priednieks take 14th with a 1:58.61, good for second team all-American honors.

Sophomore Matteo Fillippi ended his week with the 1650 freestyle. He finished the event in 15th with a time of 15:33.61 to earn second team all-American honors.
Saturday evening concluded with the 400 freestyle relays and the Oilers had both a men's and women's team in the field. The women were up first.

Junior Sydney Jones led off the relay and was followed by sophomore Troie Grubbs, junior Sasha Melnyk, and freshman Sofia Lesmes Montes. Grubbs recorded the fastest split of the group, a 50.90. The quartet finished with a time of 3:26.02, good for 15th.

Next up were the men. Junior Camilo Marrugo led off and was followed by freshman Santiago Arteaga, Tim Stollings, and senior Dags Bregis. Marrugo's 43.68 was the fastest split as the squad would take 13th with a time of 2:57.21, good for second team all-American.

This concludes UF's 2023-2024 Swimming and Diving season.