Evansville, Ind. – The University of Findlay men's and women's swimming teams continued action at the 2026 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving National Championship meet on Wednesday, March 11 at the Deaconess Aquatic Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Oilers were on fire on the second day of competition, earning five podium finishes. Both the men's and women's teams sit in 6th place in the team standings.
Before athletes entered the water in the evening, senior Randy Keener was honored by the NCAA for his effort in the classroom, earning the NCAA Elite 90 Award which is given to the athlete at each national championship who boasts the highest GPA and total credit hours. Keener is a perfect 4.0 student, majoring in computer science and has amassed more than 115 credit hours.
Kicking things off in the evenings finals, freshman Sebastian Camacho put together the best race of his career in the 1000 yard freestyle. Seeded third in the event, Camacho led the race for a little over 100 yards before being passed by the defending national champion and eventual winner. However, making his first appearance at the national championship, Camacho remained within about a second of the leader for the duration of the race, going toe-to-toe all the way to the end. Eventually, Findlay's star youngster touched the wall in 8:51.45 which is a new program record and earned him national runner-up in the event.
It was the first of three national runner-up finishes on the day for the Oilers.
Next in the pool, however, was senior Emily Mears-Bentley who has turned herself into one of the most decorated athletes in Findlay history. Mears-Bentley picked up first team all-American honors in the 200 yard IM with a fifth-place finish in the race, touching the wall in 2:00.84. That record time came as a result of a solid closing freestyle where, in the final 50, she moved up two spots into fifth with the third-fastest freestyle split in the finals.
The day then moved into the sprints where the Oilers again proved tough. First, senior Troie Grubbs set a new program record in the morning prelims with a time of 22.55, making her the fastest qualifier in the field. Sophomore Olivia Scheibelhoffer also had a good morning, earning her way into the evenings Consolation Final with a time of 23.02.
In the evening, Grubbs swam a nearly identical race, posting a time of 22.59 in the lighting quick final. That swim gave Grubbs a fourth-place finish and first team all-American honors. In the Consolation Final, Scheibelhoffer was similar, swimming almost exactly to her prelim time. Her 23.03 placing fifth in the heat and 13th overall, good for second team all-American.
Breaking his own record in the men's 50 free was senior Camilo Marrugo who took on the fastest sprint swimmers in Division II in a race that is often decided by fractions of seconds. Marrugo swam powerfully, breaking his own school record in the race with a time of 19.26. That time was good for national runner-up in the race, finishing just .29 seconds behind the national champion and just .38 seconds off the national record.
After a break for diving, the evening wrapped up with the 200 medley relays. Findlay's women went stroke for stroke in the fastest 200 medley relay in DII history. In the backstroke, Emily Mears-Bentley had the Oilers in second before handing it over to Helmi Käkelä who swam the fastest breaststroke split of the event at 27.33 and had Findlay in the lead. Eventual champion Nova Southeastern turned things up in the butterfly portion of the race, but Scheibelhoffer held steady as both teams turned for the final 50 yards tied for second behind West Florida. Nova had the fastest 50 free to end the race, but Troie Grubbs was not far behind, posting a 22.42 split and helping the Oilers to a time of 1:38.49, a new program record. That time is the fifth-fastest in Division II history as Nova went on to set a new DII record.
Findlay's men wrapped things up in the 200 medley relay where the team of Randy Keener, Arnaldo Guimaraes, Camilo Marrugo, and Juan Blandon Torres teamed up to narrowly miss the podium, finishing ninth with a time of 1:26.19.
Results all week can be found HERE.
