Grand Rapids, Mich. — While the Don Kimble Invite was not technically a home meet for Aquinas, the Saints benefitted from a familiar setting at the KPS Aquatic Center on the campus of East Kentwood High School. The commute was minimal, but the significance was enormous. Hosted by Davenport University, the annual invitational honors the late Don Kimble — one of Michigan's most respected and influential swim coaches — whose impact reached far beyond the pool deck. The final meet of the first semester serves as both a celebration of excellence in swimming & diving and a proving ground for teams preparing for championship season. Over three intense days, Aquinas rose to the occasion with record-breaking swims, breakthrough performances, and major program milestones that continue to push the Saints into the national conversation.

Final Team Scores

Men's Team Standings

1. Saginaw Valley State – 1,134
2. Quincy – 783
3. Ashland – 469
4. Davenport – 461
5. Aquinas College – 392
6. Olivet Nazarene – 390
7. Lake Superior State – 121

Women's Team Standings

1. Saginaw Valley State – 869
2. Hillsdale – 640
3. Davenport – 598
4. Ashland – 548
5. Quincy – 413
6. Olivet Nazarene – 404
7. Aquinas College – 300
8. Lake Superior State – 24

Men's Swim Team Highlights

The Aquinas men delivered one of the most impressive weekends in program history, highlighted by the first-ever victory over Olivet Nazarene — a goal the team had set months ago and achieved by just two points. The meet opened with a statement swim from the 200 freestyle relay squad of Talon Koppmann, Noah Berns, Titus Smith, and Matt Dumbsky, who shattered the school record (1:24.42) while placing seventh overall, capped by Dumbsky's blistering 20.53 anchor, the fastest in Aquinas history. Freshman Liam Sneller impressed early with a 12th-place finish in the 1650 free (17:07.55), setting the tone for a strong weekend in his distance events.

Momentum continued as the 400 medley relay of Ian Clapp, Luke Martin, Stan Tibben, and Smith delivered another school record at 3:25.28, with Martin posting the fastest breaststroke split in school history (55.80) and Smith closing with a school-record freestyle anchor of 45.92. Saturday's session featured another program highlight when the 800 freestyle relay of Smith, Sneller, Lucas Eussen, and Tibben took fourth overall and smashed the school record in 7:01.81, with Smith's lead-off 1:43.97 breaking yet another AQ mark.

Sneller added to the list of milestones by crushing the 500 freestyle school record with a 14th-place time of 4:47.25, while Nate Fisher broke the 5:00 barrier for the first time, and freshmen Sam Grant (5:02.26) and Conrad Eichbauer (5:04.50) provided key depth. Martin continued his dominance in breaststroke with a 6th-place finish in the 100 (56.43), the second-fastest performance in school history. In the 200 backstroke, Smith landed on the podium with a 3rd-place finish (1:52.81) while Clapp secured 8th (1:57.09). Tibben and Eussen battled in the 200 butterfly, finishing 13th and 14th, while Carl Goeckel, Collin Neely, and Fisher added valuable finals points.

Sunday was equally strong, with Smith pacing the 100 butterfly crew in 13th (50.86) while Koppmann, Neely, and Clapp added additional scoring swims. Tibben and Eussen continued their consistency in the 400 IM, placing 15th and 16th respectively, while freshmen Goeckel and Grant earned evening swims. Sneller and Fisher led the team in the 200 freestyle with 13th- and 23rd-place finishes. Smith nearly stole the show with a massive drop to finish second overall in the 100 backstroke (50.94), while Clapp added an 11th-place showing and Neely and Anthony Dupuis contributed in 19th and 21st. The session closed with yet another school record as Martin crushed the 200 breaststroke standard, posting a 6th-place 2:04.95. Freshman Bryce Hopson scored in 15th with a lifetime best 2:14.63, and Tony Parlato rounded out the event in 24th.

Women's Swim Team Highlights

Aquinas' women produced a weekend packed with speed, records, and depth — culminating in a 6th-place national ranking per the SwimCloud championship meet metrics. Their weekend began with an electric performance in the 200 freestyle relay, where Chloe Boivin, Addie Osborne, Amelia Edens, and Hannah Brown set a new program record (1:37.69), powered by Brown's 23.85 anchor — the fastest in program history. Sophomore Dailey Jogan opened her weekend strong with a 10th-place finish in the 1650 freestyle, her second-fastest performance ever.

The 400 medley relay of Emersyn Joslin, Elena Cavadas, Edens, and Brown continued the record-breaking trend with a new school mark of 4:04.98. Saturday saw yet another milestone as the 800 freestyle relay of Edens, Boivin, Brown, and Adriana Waller lowered the program record to 8:04.54. Freshman sensation Cavadas emerged as the team's breakout breaststroker, setting school records in both the 100 (1:09.11) and 200 (2:34.44) breaststroke while being the lone AQ scorer in those events.

Joslin delivered a top-eight finals appearance in the 200 backstroke, placing 6th (2:09.50), while Edens delivered an 11th-place consolation finish. In the 100 freestyle, Brown once again reset the record book, clocking a school-record 53.32, with Boivin (17th, 53.46) and Osborne (22nd, 54.76) delivering impressive depth. Waller and Ella Althaver battled through the 200 butterfly to finish 11th and 17th. Divers Kaitlyn Santaguida and Anna Benstead proved crucial on the 3-meter board with 8th- and 9th-place finishes.

Sunday brought more fireworks. Edens scored in 11th place in the 100 butterfly, while the Saints delivered an impressive block of finishes between 14th and 18th in the 400 IM thanks to Lily Heath, Meghan Hincher, Riley Monahan, Charlotte Boehm, and Elisabeth Zubal. The backstroke trio of Joslin, Edens, and Emma Hale combined for finishes of 7th, 10th, and 15th. But the highlight came in the 50 freestyle, where Brown became the first woman in school history under 24 seconds, posting a 23.99 to take second overall — the highest finish of the weekend — and rising to 9th nationally. Osborne took 5th (24.29) and Boivin finished 11th (24.83) to complete AQ's strongest sprint showing ever. The 400 freestyle relay closed the night with another program record (3:36.50).

Men's Dive Team Highlights

The men's diving squad delivered one of the best point-producing showings in program history, highlighted by an outstanding performance on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. In the 1-meter event — the highest-scoring single event of the weekend — Evan Bennett led the Saints with a 3rd-place finish (410.40), followed closely by Troy Borrero in 7th (369.25), Major Vance in 8th (329.85), Cooper Wasson in 9th (326.65), and Sawyer Shank in 12th (256.95). Their collective performance proved pivotal in the men's narrow victory over Olivet Nazarene.

On Sunday's 3-meter competition, Bennett again led the Aquinas charge with a 4th-place score of 434.50, just behind three Davenport divers who swept the podium. Borrero, Vance, Wasson, and Shank added additional scoring performances, rounding out one of the deepest men's diving showings in recent Aquinas history. Their consistency and ability to deliver high-degree-of-difficulty dives under pressure played a significant role in the team's overall momentum heading into championship season.

Women's Dive Team Highlights

The women's diving corps added meaningful depth and stability to the overall team scoring throughout the weekend. On the 1-meter springboard, Emma Nibbelink led Aquinas with a 9th-place finish (275.85), followed by Kaitlyn Santaguida in 10th (202.20) and Anna Benstead in 11th (190.60). Their performances demonstrated poise under the 11-dive championship format and provided essential points during a tightly contested mid-pack women's race.

On the 3-meter board earlier in the weekend, Santaguida and Benstead once again delivered back-to-back scoring performances, finishing 8th and 9th overall. Their reliability across both boards underscored a promising trajectory for the Saints' women's dive program, which continues to build depth and competitive strength.

Program Milestones & Final Scores

This year's Don Kimble Invite produced some of the most significant milestones in Aquinas Swim & Dive history:

• Men defeat Olivet Nazarene in a championship meet for the first time ever
• A combined 12 school records were broken (7 relay + 5 individual)
• Multiple freshmen set program records
• Women rise to 8th nationally in SwimCloud championship projections
• Men reach the top-10 national benchmark established by the coaching staff

Coach's Comments

Following the final meet of the first half, Head Coach Kristy Hepp reflected on her team's performance and the continued rise of the program:
"Since the team's inception, my goal was to build it to be a top-10 ranked team in the nation. After this weekend's competition, our women have accomplished that goal and more. By the SwimCloud championship meet rankings, our women's team is now ranked 8th in the nation. Four out of five relay records were broken this weekend, and all four of the individual team records were broken by freshmen. These accomplishments bode well for the KCAC and NAIA championship meets in February and March! This is the most talented women's team we've ever had, and we're growing in confidence to back up our big team goals with the hard work it requires. I cannot wait to see how our women step up in the coming weeks and months!"

Up Next

This was the final meet of the 2025 calendar year for Aquinas Swim & Dive. Following the holiday break, the Saints return to action at home (EGR HS Aquatic Center) on Saturday, January 17, hosting a tri-meet with Albion and Saginaw Valley State, in what will be the final home meet of the season. Stay tuned to AQSaints.com for full coverage, results, and recaps as the Saints continue making waves throughout the 2025–26 campaign.