INDIAN RIVER COMPETES AT THE SPARTAN INVITATIONAL. LOOMIS BREAKS NATIONAL RECORD

IRSC's athletes had some very good performances against some of the top NCAA Division 2 colleges in the country and came away with a team victory for the men, and 3^rd place for the women. Other teams competing in the competition were NCAA Division 2 powerhouses NOVA Southeastern University (winners of the women's meet), competition hosts University of Tampa, Florida Southern College, Lenoir Rhyne University, and Rollins College.

Day 1 of competition started off with a second place showing from the women's 200 medley relay and a victory for Jason Van Der Touw, John Fauteux, Nick Loomis, and Gavin Erdmann in the men's 200 medley relay.

In the 1000 freestyle event, top finisher for the women was Madisyn Lyons (12^th), and for the men it was Luka Tomic (3^rd), and Alex Berggren (5^th)

The 200 freestyle relay saw a victory for the IRSC women (Osianna McReed, Courtney Perret, Courtney Stewart, and Malin Wallen), while the men's team placed 2^nd.

On day 2 of competition, top individual scorers in the 500 free came from Malin Wallen (5^th), Ianthe Van Der Westhuizen (7^th). For the men, it was Luka Tomic (2^nd), Jason Van Der Touw (3^rd), and Alex Berggren (6^th). In the 200 IM, Natalie Grothe was 7^th, and for the men it was Cameron Newton (4^th), Andrew Wojcik (5^th). In the women's 50 free, Osianna McReed claimed the victory, while Courtney Perret placed 4^th and Courtney Stewart earned 7^th. The men had 4 place in the final heat with Gavin Erdmann, John Fauteux, Nick Loomis, and Paul Tobin placing 2^nd, 4^th, 6^th, and 7^th. In the final event of the night, both the women's and men's 400 medley relays teams placed second.

Day 3 of competition saw a new NJCAA record established from Nick Loomis in the men's 100 fly. Loomis would break the record during the prelims of the event before returning in the evening to also claim the victory. His time of 46.93 is also ranked 34^th nationally amongst all collegiate athletes.

Other top performances on the day came from Malin Wallen (4^th) and Madisyn Lyons (8^th) in the women's 400 IM, and for the men it was Andrew Wojcik (4^th).

In the women's 100 fly, Osianna McReed took 3^rd, and Natalie Grothe took 5^th. Following Nick Loomis, other men in the final heat of the 100 fly were Gabrielle Sasia (3^rd), and Harrison Howerton 6^th. Competing in the 200 free, Sarah Dostie took 4^th for the women, and for the men it was Luka Tomic (2^nd), Jason Van Der Touw (3^rd), and Cameron Newton (4^th). In the 100 breast, top scorers were Courtney Perret (4^th), Lauren Meyrick (5^th), Natalie Grothe (7^th), John Fauteux (2^nd), Andrew Wojcik (5^th), and Joel Hansson (6^th). In the final individual event of the night, the 100 back, Courtney Stewart (2^nd), Kamryn Gallowich (6^th), Gabrielle Sasia (3^rd), Harrison Howerton (6^th), and Nick Loomis (8^th). In the 800 free relay, IRSC took third for the women and second for the men.

The fourth and final day of competition started with the longest event of the competition, the 1650 free. Placing in this event was Ianthe Van Der Westhuizen (3^rd), Malin Wallen (6^th), and Alex Berggren (4^th). Other events contested on the night were the 200 back with Kamryn Gallowich (5^th), Courtney Stewart (7^th), Luka Tomic (2^nd), and Harrison Howerton (4^th). The 100 free saw Osianna McReed and Courtney Perrett place 2^nd and 3^rd, while for the men it was Gavin Erdmann (3^rd), and Cameron Newton (6^th). In the 200 breast, Nathalie Grothe placed 6^th, while Andrew Wojcik placed 3^rd, and Joel Hansson earned 4^th. In the final individual event, IRSC would gain another event win from freshman Gabrielle Sasia in the 200 fly while Nick Loomis secured a 3^rd place finish.

With only one event left in the competition, IRSC would just need to legally finish their 400 free relay races to hold their positions in the team competitions. The women would do so securing a 3^rd place finish while the men would place second and win the overall men's competition.

The team win now take a break for the holidays before returning back to competition on January 3^rd when the host Lincoln College, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Lewis university in the IRSC Winter Invitational on January 3^rd at 10am.