BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings men's and women's swimming & diving teams each earned first place on Saturday at the IWU Halloween Invite hosted by Illinois Wesleyan. The men took home the spot out of five teams in attendance, while the women won the meet out of six total teams.

"Today our team showed incredible heart and toughness," said head coach Dan Lloyd. "Everyone stepped up and it was the unity of this team that helped us win this invitational. I am extremely proud of the way our team came together and fought for every finish. Everyone did their job both in and out of the pool."

On the men's side, the Vikings took first in the 500-yard freestyle A relay as the team of Jack Blumenfeld, Cesar Castillo, Gavin McCorry, and Kacper Cebula won by nearly six seconds with a final time of 4:18:38. Also in relays, the 3x100 backstroke team of Castillo, Dante Rinaldi, and Nick Phillips also claimed first, besting Illinois Wesleyan by two seconds at 2:46.06. Cebula, Michael Garland, and Tommy Anderson continued the team's success in the 3x100 breaststroke relay, winning with a time of 3:16.31, while Phillips, Cebula, Jack Brandt, Blumenfeld took the 200-medley relay at 1:39.27. The A relay team of Phillips, Cebula, Anderson, and Blumenfeld also won the 200-yard freestyle relay.

On an individual level, Blumenfeld was the event winner in the 100-yard freestyle, followed by Vikings in the second, third and 5-9 placements. Cebula and Nathan Mesina rounded out an all-Viking top three in the event. In the 200-breast, Augie also snagged all three spots, led by Garland's first-place finish. Anderson and Albert Buvary finished in second and third, respectively. Gavin McCorry placed second in the 200-free with a mark of 1:51.71, while Holden Sienna grabbed second as well in the 200-yard butterfly. McCorry also earned second in the 200-backstroke race.

The Viking men finished with 107 points as a team, 15 ahead of second-place Illinois Wesleyan. Augie ended ahead of all three other CCIW schools participating. 

For the women, the team saw a winner in the 500-yard freestyle A relay as Hailey Glasnovich, Isabelle Sansom, Olivia White, and Brooke Walker earned a time of 4:51.55 to take first. The Vikings' A relay trio of Dominique Valentine, Zoe Heiar, and Bella Casanovas placed in first in the 3x100 butterfly relay, nearly five seconds better than the second-place finisher. In the 200-yard medley relay, Glasnovich, Heiar, Valentine, and Samson clocked a time of 1:56.23, while the same team also took the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Individually, Sansom was the event winner in the 100-yard freestyle, joined by teammate Glasnovich in the top three of the race. In the 200-yard freestyle, Walker placed third to lead a string of Vikings in the top ten as Augie took places 3-9 in the event. Augustana also saw two top-three finishers in the 200-yard butterfly, led by a first-place finish from Casanovas and third-place standing from Bryanna Matkovich. In the 200-yard back, Augie snagged places 2-4 as Heiar earned second with a time of 2:39.05. Kaitlyn Yee and Emily Martin were close behind in third and fourth. The Vikings had another top-three sweep in the 500-yard freestyle, fueled by a first-place effort from Walker.

As a team, the Vikings earned 105 points, seven ahead of second-place Illinois Wesleyan. Augie ended ahead of all three other CCIW schools participating. 

Augustana will return to Bloomington next Saturday, November 12 for a dual meet against Illinois Wesleyan. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.