DAY THREE RESULTS

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - Carroll's men's and women's swim teams continued their successful run in the 2025 CCIW Championships on Friday with a school record-breaking five A qualifiers after the morning prelims – the highest number for the Friday Session in the past five years. The Pioneers' success has been fueled by an impressive cohort of first-year swimmers, with two female and four male first-years securing spots in either the A or B Finals. That helped the men maintain their fourth-place score in the team standings, while Carroll's women strengthened their hold on fifth place. After the dust settled on Friday, Carroll finished the day with 14 relay split lifetime-best times, one relay split season-best time, four relay lifetime-bests, five individual lifetime-bests, and two individual season-best times.

"Our first-year swimmers have brought a new level of energy and talent that adds to the high-achieving dedicated athletes we have on the  team already, and the veterans are leading the team to show what it means to be a Pioneer," said Carroll Head Coach Guy Gniotczynski.

Qualifying for Friday's A Finals included Erin Fixen (100 butterfly), Josie Peterson (200 freestyle), Eddie McConnaha (200 freestyle), Morgan Toupal (100 backstroke), and Kelly Gordon (400 IM). In addition to that, nine Carroll swimmers qualified for the B Finals, including Gavin Buechel (100 butterfly), Eli Griggs-LeRoux (100 backstroke), Jacob Rossi (100 breaststroke), Grace Nelson (400 IM), Anna Clare Miller (400 IM), Kailee Sitter (400 IM), Kaya Martin (100 backstroke), Thomas Rynne (100 backstroke), and Matt Brown (100 backstroke).

"Everybody has done an incredible job of stepping up for the championship meet, the support they give to each other has helped bring us a lot of success so far this weekend," Carroll Assistant Coach and Alum Brennen McClay said.

One of the biggest highlights of Friday night's session included the men's team securing a historic third-place finish in the 200 medley relay, as Rynne, Rossi, Buechel, and McConnaha teamed up to swim a lifetime-best time of 1:39.09, with all four swimmers recording lifetime-best splits in that event. That marked Carroll's first top-three finish in many years, increasing the Pio men's lead over Illinois Wesleyan, Millikin, and North Central in the overall team standings.

Carroll's women's 200 medley relay team of Toupal, Gordon, Peterson, and Carigan Tabor also saw success, swimming a lifetime-best time of 1:55.55, which was good for fifth place. All four swimmers recorded either lifetime or season-best splits in that event.

The evening session was also filled with impressive individual performances. On the women's side, Sitter, Nelson, and Miller held their positions in the B heat of the 400 IM, while Gordon finished fourth in that event in the A heat with a lifetime-best time of 4:49.53. Fixen added a lifetime-best time of 1:01.55 in the 100 butterfly to finish seventh in the event, while Peterson finished sixth in the 200 freestyle (1:58.22) and Toupal was seventh in the 100 backstroke (1:02.02).

On the men's side, Buechel swam a lifetime-best time in the B heat of the 100 butterfly (53.14), while McConnaha improved his position by five spots from last year in the 200 freestyle with a fifth-place time of 1:42.58. Rossi held his position in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.07), while Rynne, Griggs-LeRoux, and Brown all held their positions, securing valuable points for the team.

The Pioneers will return to the pool Saturday morning for their final preliminary session of the 2025 CCIW Championships at 10:30 a.m., with the finals taking place at 6 p.m. that evening. All events will again be held at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., hosted by Carthage College.