PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's swimming & diving claimed their first CCIW title in 41 years on Saturday as they capped off the four-day meet with a first-place finish.

"This weekend was historic," said head coach Dan Lloyd. "Back in October at Homecoming, our 1982 team came back to campus and met our team, and now four months later we bring home the title. We are honored to be a part of history. What they did this weekend was incredible and from start to finish this was complete team victory. They were a band of borhters that had a commitment to excellence all year and it show this weekend. This title is for all of our past alumni who laid the foundation for our program."

The conference meet began with diving events on Wednesday. Lorenzo Moreno had a big showing in the 3-meter dive, earning all-conference in third place with a score of 266.05. The junior entered the meet seeded fifth, jumping two spots to crack the top three. He also earned sixth in the 1-meter. 

On Thursday, Oskar Bannister broke a school record in the 50-freestyle, clocking 20.61 in the race and winning first to win a CCIW title in his first conference meet. The time broke the previous Augustana record of 20.85 set by Jared Ekberg in 2019. Mark Addison took home first in the 500-yard free, earning conference champion with a time of 4:34.49. The Viking men enjoyed several other podium appearances on an individual level, including top three finishes from Joseph Addison (500 free), Tyler Leslie (200 IM), Kacper Cebula (200 IM), and Nick Phillips (50 free) in their respective events.

The relay teams stole the show on Thursday for the men as the 200 free relay team comprised of J. Addison, Hunter Craft, Phillips and M. Addison won the B final and set a school record with a time of 1:24.37. Just minutes later, the A relay team of Leslie, Bannister, Jack Brandt, and Jack Blumenfeld broke the very same record, claiming a conference championship with a time of 1:22.75. The 400 medley relay team of Phillips, Cebula, M. Addison, and Bannister took second in their event, setting a new school record with a time of 3:23.44.

After Thursday's action, the Augie men sat in first with 339 points, leading second-place Wheaton by 33 points. 

The team's lead never vanished.

Friday night saw more records broken as the night concluded with a historic performance from the men's 800-free team made up of Leslie, M. Addison, Gavin McCorry, and Bannister. The team broke a 34-year CCIW record, clocking a time of 6:47.14, shattering a school, CCIW meet, and CCIW open (1989) record. Also in relays, Phillips, Leslie, Cebula, and Brandt took second in the 200-yard with a time of 1:32.51, besting their prelim time by over a second. The 800 B final team of Blumenfeld, Isaiah Valentine, Cebula, and J. Addison won their race as well.

J. Addison was the conference champion in the 400-yard IM, finishing first with a time of 4:05.92. Valentine won the B final, with Nathan Mesina coming in second in the same race. Augustana grabbed four of the top six spots in the 200-free, led by Bannister's time of 1:40.79. Leslie came in second, with McCorry and Blumenfeld rounding out the top six. The team continued to see balance in the 100-back as Phillips, Craft, and Dante Rinaldi earned spots 3-5 for the Vikings. 

The Viking men remained in first heading into Saturday with 673.5 points, 75.5 ahead of second-place Wheaton.

Augustana continued to keep their foot on the gas on Saturday as they grew their lead over Wheaton even more. M. Addison took home another conference crown in the 1650, placing first with a time of 16:33.35. Bannister and Blumenfeld went one and two in the 100-free, while M. Addison and Michael Garland earned second and third in the 200-back. Addison also set a school record in the 200-breast prelims with a time of 2:01.29. Craft was the winner of the 200-fly, while Holden Siena was the B final winner with a time of 1:59.78. McCorry also took third in the 200-back.

Augie also grabbed first in one final relay race as Leslie, Blumenfeld, Cebula, and Bannister won the 400-freestyle with a time of 3:03.65. The mark set a new school record.

The Vikings concluded the meet with 968.5 points, 138.5 ahead of second-place Wheaton. Head coach Dan Lloyd was named the CCIW Men's Coach of the Year, while Bannister earned First-Year Student-Athlete of the Year honors. 

The championship is the first Augie men's team to win conference since the 1981-82 season under head coach Mike Hollway.