5 Swimmers Heading to National Invitational Championship

The Valpo swimming program can be represented by 5 swimmers on the 2026 CSCAA National Invitational Championship, as Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy), Evan Curran (Golden, Colo./Golden), Gabriel Corkran (Avondale Estates, Ga./Druid Hills), Nate Bolinger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) are set to compete within the postseason. The three-day meet opens Thursday morning on the FAST Facility in Ocala, Fla.
 
Oostman certified for this yr’s NIC, his second consecutive yr swimming within the postseason, along with his school-record 100 IM time of 51.15 on the MVC Championships — four-hundredths of a second sooner than the CSCAA ‘A’ normal, incomes him automated qualification.
 
Swimmers who qualify routinely in a single occasion might also enter different occasions during which they’ve met the CSCAA ‘B’ normal, and Oostman will swim three different occasions along with the 100 IM. The senior will try to raised his personal program file within the 400 IM, during which he swam a season-best time of 4:01.01 on the MVC Championships. He additionally seems to reclaim program information within the 50 again and 100 again — he swam respective season-best instances of 23.80 and 50.33 within the two occasions on the mid-season Miami Invitational.
 
Curran, Corkran, Bolinger and Martin have mixed to demolish this system’s 800 free relay file this yr. Entering the season, the college file for the 800 free relay sat at 6:51.07 — the quartet first smashed that file with a time of 6:42.33 on the Miami Invitational. Then, eventually month’s MVC Championships, they lowered the file by practically three extra seconds, touching the wall in 6:39.51 — a time which got here in 27-hundredths of a second higher than the CSCAA ‘A’ normal to earn the relay squad an automated NIC berth.
 
Swimmers who qualify routinely as a part of a relay squad might also swim particular person occasions during which they’ve met the CSCAA ‘B’ normal, and three of the Beacons’ 4 swimmers will take to the pool for a person swim. Curran will compete within the 200 free along with his qualifying time of 1:39.10 from the MVC Championships, good for second in program historical past. The program file holder within the 200 fly, Martin swam a season-best time of 1:52.16 on the MVC Championships. Corkran will be part of Oostman in competing within the 100 IM, as he swam a season-best time of 53.25 — sixth-fastest in program historical past — within the occasion on the Dan Ross Indiana Intercollegiate early within the season.
 
Action all three days begins with prelims at 8:30 a.m. CT, with occasion finals held beginning at 5 p.m. CT. A reside video stream can be out there all three days, linked at ValpoAthletics.com.