Elkhart, Ind. -- The Saints brought their championship ambitions to Elkhart — and brought home a little history. Aquinas opened the 2026-27 swimming and diving season Saturday, Oct. 3, by knocking down three school records and a Bethel barrier that had stood for years. The women beat the Pilots head-to-head for the first time, while the men delivered their largest victory margin over Bethel in program history. For the first time, both AQ squads left this match-up with a win. Now that's how the Maroon and White starts a season.

Women: Aquinas 170, Bethel 118
Men: Aquinas 207.5, Bethel 57.5

Head Coach Kristy Hepp's program collected 25 victories across the meet's 32 events at Elkhart Health & Aquatics, including all four relays. The women won 10 events against the opponent Hepp considers their strongest competition in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, while the men claimed 15 of 16.

Coming off a runner-up finish at last season's KCAC Championships, the women arrived with an opportunity to test their title ambitions against a familiar conference challenger. Their response came from throughout the lineup, with returning leaders and newcomers contributing to a breakthrough afternoon.

Aquinas Women's Swimming

The first race established the tone.

Emersyn Joslin, Elena Cavadas, Amelia Edens and Hannah Brown combined to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:49.12, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of Bethel. Coach Hepp has stated that Aquinas had never previously beaten the Pilots' women's relays, making the opening victory an immediate confidence builder.

Cavadas carried that momentum into a record-setting breaststroke sweep. The sophomore lowered her own school records in both events, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.63 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:29.25. Both performances put her atop the early KCAC rankings, according to Hepp.

Freshman Peyton Weenum made an equally memorable collegiate debut. She broke the Aquinas record in the 1,000 freestyle with a winning time of 11:14.50, finishing more than 22 seconds ahead of her closest challenger. Weenum then completed the distance double by winning the 500 freestyle in 5:25.69, holding off Bethel's Lizzie Williams by 2.16 seconds. Her distance performances also led the early conference rankings, Hepp noted.

Brown supplied two individual victories of her own, taking the 200 freestyle in 1:59.48 and the 100 freestyle in 55.11. Both swims met NAIA provisional standards and placed the sophomore first in the early KCAC rankings.

The 100 freestyle showcased the Saints' depth. Addie Osborne finished second in 56.23, freshman Raegan Magnus followed in 56.39, and senior Chloe Boivin touched in 56.78 as Aquinas occupied the first four places.

Osborne added a victory in the 50 freestyle, recording an NAIA provisional time of 24.68 that also stood as the conference's early leading mark.

Edens delivered one of the afternoon's closest victories, out-touching Bethel's Ella Wardle by 0.34 seconds in the 100 backstroke. Her winning time of 58.91 met an NAIA provisional standard, led the early KCAC rankings and came within a few tenths of her school record. The senior also finished second in the 200 backstroke in 2:12.34.

Freshmen Lucy Haney and Emma Heinzelmann contributed personal-best performances. Haney placed third in the 200 backstroke in 2:20.11, while Heinzelmann took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.30. Heinzelmann also finished third in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

Joslin added a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley, while Adriana Waller placed second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 200 butterfly. Dailey Jogan finished third in both distance freestyle races and recorded a personal best in the 200 individual medley. Madison Bearup and Charlotte Boehm provided additional scoring in the breaststroke and butterfly events, respectively.

AQ closed its swimming performance with another display of relay depth. Osborne, Joslin, Edens and Brown won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:40.68. Boivin, Haney, Waller and Magnus finished second in 1:42.45, while Cavadas, Jogan, Weenum and Boehm placed third in 1:51.27. All three Aquinas entries finished ahead of Bethel's relay.

Coach Hepp has stated that both winning women's relays — the 200 freestyle and 200 medley — hold the top spots in the early KCAC rankings.

Aquinas Women's Diving

Freshman Breeana Anderson added a victory from the boards, winning the 1-meter competition with 178.45 points. She finished 18.55 points ahead of Bethel's Sarah Graves, contributing another event win to the Saints' historic team result.

Anderson followed with a runner-up finish on the 3-meter board, scoring 153.20 points.

Her collegiate debut gave Aquinas valuable scoring in both diving events, helping turn a strong swimming performance into a complete team victory.

Aquinas Men's Swimming

After graduating much of its top talent last season, the Aquinas men entered the opener with opportunities for returning swimmers to lead and newcomers to establish their roles.

They found contributions throughout the lineup.

Senior Titus Smith, junior Talon Koppmann and sophomore Stan Tibben each finished first in all four of their events, winning two individual races and swimming on both victorious A relays.

Smith swept the backstroke events in 52.34 in the 100 and 1:56.48 in the 200. Freshman Grady Nugent finished second in both races, including a personal-best 58.25 in the 100, giving Aquinas consecutive 1–2 finishes.

Koppmann won the 50 freestyle in 21.62, edging Bethel's Andrew Williams by 0.28 seconds, before taking the 100 butterfly in 52.15. Hepp noted that his butterfly performance nearly broke the school record. He also delivered a 22.56 butterfly split on the winning medley relay.

Tibben's performance reflected an evolving role in the lineup. Hepp plans to use him more in middle-distance freestyle and butterfly events this season, and he responded by winning the 200 butterfly in 2:00.94 and the 500 freestyle in 4:57.83.

Junior Lucas Eussen won the 1,000 freestyle in 10:40.91 and the 200 individual medley in 2:04.53, adding a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle. His 22 individual points led the Aquinas men.

Freshman Noah Mettham made a strong first impression by winning the 200 freestyle in 1:48.69 and finishing second in the 100 freestyle in 50.21. Hepp identified his 200 freestyle as one of the opener's standout performances and sees potential for the Saints to develop a national-caliber 800 freestyle relay as the season progresses.

Sam Grant won the 100 breaststroke with a personal-best 1:05.92, while freshman Carson Dissette took the 200 breaststroke in 2:41.00. Carl Goeckel added runner-up finishes in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley and tied for second in the 200 breaststroke.

AQ took the first four places in the 500 freestyle, with Tibben followed by Eussen, Grant and freshman Taylor Eberts. Freshman Dorrean Beri contributed third-place finishes in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly, recording a personal best in the latter.

The men's relay victories reinforced that balance. Smith, Tibben, Koppmann and Eussen won the 200 medley relay in 1:37.33. Koppmann, Tibben, Mettham and Smith later captured the 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.83.

AQ's B freestyle relay of Eberts, Nugent, Beri and Grant finished second in 1:33.87, also ahead of Bethel.

Aquinas Men's Diving

The Saints' five-man diving group provided another source of strength, led by senior Evan Bennett's sweep of both boards.

Bennett won the 1-meter with 258.20 points and the 3-meter with 251.05. Sophomore Cooper Wasson finished second in both events, scoring 212.45 on the 1-meter and 196.85 on the 3-meter. Freshman Aaron Almy followed in third with respective totals of 203.20 and 178.90.

Freshman Alex Teed placed fourth on both boards, recording 184.10 on the 1-meter and 166.75 on the 3-meter. Fifth-year Saint Anthony Dupuis completed the group with scores of 119.35 and 109.05.

For Dupuis, the meet represented a particularly meaningful beginning. After switching from swimming to diving for his fifth year at Aquinas, he completed full dive lists on both boards in his first competition following just one month of training.

Bethel did not enter either men's diving event, but Hepp sees the group's importance extending well beyond the opener. She expects all five divers to contribute at the KCAC Championships and identified several as national hopefuls.

Saints Snapshots

• The Chase Gets Real: After finishing second at last season's KCAC Championships, the women opened by beating the opponent Coach Hepp identifies as their strongest conference challenger. The title pursuit has an early confidence boost.
• Set the Tone, Share the Confidence: The opening medley relay broke through against Bethel and gave the Saints something to build on immediately. AQ's relay depth kept that energy moving through the final race.
• New Saints, Immediate Impact: The freshmen arrived ready for responsibility. From Weenum's distance victories to Mettham's freestyle performance, the newcomers gave Aquinas meaningful contributions in their collegiate debuts.
• Leadership in the Lanes: Graduation created opportunities on the men's side, and returning Saints stepped forward to show a young lineup what collegiate competition demands.
• Same Saint, New Challenge: After four years as a swimmer, Dupuis began his fifth year on the diving boards. One month of training, two complete dive lists and a fresh way to contribute to his team.
• Make This One Count: For the juniors and seniors, this was their final season opener. With all juniors on track to graduate in three years, the afternoon carried meaning beyond the finish wall.

Coach's Comments

Hepp saw the women's performance as evidence that the preparation behind their championship goal is taking hold.

"This was the best way to start the season — facing our strongest competition in the KCAC," Hepp said. "We have been preparing from day one with team culture and mindset, and they're putting in the work in the water. Today, they came ready to race, and I have full faith that we can accomplish our goal of winning the team title at the KCAC meet as long as we stay the course. I think the women gained the confidence they needed, and we're only just getting started!"

For the men, the opener provided room to learn while establishing a foundation for tougher competition ahead.

"This was a low-pressure meet, which enabled us to stay curious and figure out pacing and technical application in our races," Hepp said. "Most of our freshmen are still trying to figure out their strengths, and we have a very young team. We were able to try some new events for guys trying to find their lineups for the end of the season. It helps to have five strong guy divers who continue to make a big impact on overall team success."

Up Next

Aquinas returns to competition Friday, Oct. 9, at the Davenport Invitational at East Kentwood High School in Kentwood, Mich. The timed-finals meet will give the Saints another early test against a field that includes NCAA Division II competition and fellow NAIA program St. Ambrose.

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