(WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 21) – The McKendree University swimming and diving program completed the first day of the Purdue Invite, finishing with 13 NCAA qualifying cuts.  
 
The men sit in fifth place with 104 points and the women are in seventh place with 61 points.
 
Women's 200 Freestyle Relay: senior Milica Sostarec (Subotica, Serbia/Medical High School), senior Sydney Rey (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School), sophomore Abigail Rumpp (Knoxville, TN/L&N STEM Academy), junior Meredith Geyer (Germantown, TN/Germantown High School) (6^th, 1:34.07, NCAA Qualifying).
 
Men's 200 Freestyle Relay: sophomore Gregg Lichinsky (West Des Moines, IA/West Des Moines Valley High School), junior Alexander Skinner (Namibia, Africa/Windhoek Afrikaans Private School), freshman Caleb Law (Anchorage, AK/Robert Service High School), and senior Matija Pucarevic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sixth Belgrade Grammar School) (4^th, 1:19.84, NCAA Qualifying).
 
In the 500 freestyle, sophomore Hallie Dixon (Jeffersonville, IN/Jeffersonville High School) finished in fourth place in the D final with a NCAA qualifying time of 5:03.31.
 
Sophomore Noah Javens (West Lafayette, IN/William Henry Harrison High School) took seventh in the D final of the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:48.04. sophomore Charlie Fraser-Allen (London, England/Highgate Wood Secondary School) placed seventh in the C final with a time of 4:37.48. Senior Luca Simonetti (Sassari, Italy/Liceo Scientifico Gulielmo Marconi Sassari) and junior Throstur Bjarnason (Reykjanesbær, Iceland/Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja) finished in eighth and sixth respectively in the B final with times of 4:34.96 and 4:28.86. Freshman Fabio Dalu (Cagliari, Italy/Liceo L.B. Alberti Cagliari) took seventh in the A final with a time of 4:24.81, setting a new school record. Bjarnason, Simonetti, and Dalu each met NCAA qualifying standards.
 
In the 200 IM, sophomore Taras Zherebetskyy (Alghero, Sardegna, Italy/I.T.S Alghero) finished in eighth in the D final with a time of 1:54.95. Freshman Davante Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Queens College) took seventh in the C final, finishing with a 1:54.79.
 
For the 50 freestyle, Rey and Sostarec competed in the finals. Rey took third in the E final, turning in a 23.87. Sostarec placed eighth in the A final with a time of 23.26. Both met NCAA qualifying times.
 
On the men's side, Law took first in the D final with a time of 20.68. Pucarevic placed fourth in the C final, finishing in 20.37. Both Skinner and Lichinsky competed in the B final with Skinner taking eighth with a time of 20.29 and Lichinsky placing seventh in 20.19. All four swims met NCAA qualifying standards.
 
Women's 400 Medley Relay: Rey, freshman Grace Credit (La Grange Highlands, IL/Lyons Township High School), junior Victoria Sananikone (Cedar Park, TX/Cedar Park High School), Geyer (7^th, 3:49.85).
 
Men's 400 Medley Relay: Carey, freshman John Heaphy (Eagle River, AK/Eagle River High School), Pucarevic, Skinner (5^th, 3:15.88, NCAA Qualifying, School Record).
 
 Sophomore divers Ethan Larson (Anchorage, AK/Paideia High School) and Xavier Flores (Fresno, CA/Clovis West High School) placed fifth and sixth in one meter diving. Larson scored 261.30 points and Flores scored 149.45 points.