The 2022-23 season for the Augustana Vikings men's swimming & diving team was capped off in historic fashion as the team claimed its first CCIW title since 1982, breaking a 41-year drought. 

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 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 season started with a dominating road dual meet win over Monmouth before the Vikings grabbed first place in their first invitational of the season at the IWU Halloween Invite. One week later, the Vikings traveled back to Bloomington, making it two wins in as many duals with a 163-109 win over the Titans. Augie enjoyed multiple first-place finishers, including Phillips in the 100-back, Blumenfeld in the 100-free, McCorry in the 200-back, and Cebula in the 200 IM. Scott Dunham won both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.

Following a pair of competitive invites, the Vikings improved to 3-0 on the season with a Senior Day win in their lone home competition of the season. Augustana defeated Monmouth for the second time, winning by a score of 187-23. A total of nine different events were won by Augie in the victory.

The Vikings rounded out their regular season with a second-place finish at the Grinnell Invitational and a win over St. Ambrose at a late-season diving invitational. 

Seven individual and five relay records were set this season. All five relays - 200 medley, 400 medley, 200 free, 400 free, 800 free - were shattered, while Bannister set the top mark in the 50-free, 100-free, and 200-free. Cebula now owns two records, earning top spots in the 100-breaststroke and 100 IM, while J. Addison claimed the fastest time in the 400 IM. M. Addison rounds out the records broken in the 200-breast.

A total of 45 different marks this season landed in the all-time top ten lists in the Augie record book, which can be viewed here. 

In February, the men were named to the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America team list for the fourth straight year. Four Vikings - J. Addison, Cebula, McCorry, and Valentine - were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. 
 
TEAM AWARDS
MVP - Mark Addison
Most Improved - Shazil Farhan
Spirit Award - Nathan Mesina
Top Relay Performer - Oskar Bannister
Golden Golves Fight to the Finish Award - Tyler Leslie

Academic Excellence Award
Joseph Addison
Mark Addison
Shazil Farhan

Academic All-Conference
Joseph Addison
Jack Brandt
Albert Buvary
Kacper Cebula
Scott Dunham
Shazil Farhan
Gavin McCorry
Fernando Munguia
Holden Siena
Isaiah Valentine

Cebula, McCorry, and Siena have been selected by the team to serve as captains for next season.