O'FALLON, Ill. – McKendree Men's Swim and Dive had a great start to the 2026 year, getting a big 157-123 win over WashU this past Saturday at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex.  

The Bearcats started the first event sweeping the podium in the 200-yard medley relay, with the group of Joey Ovanic, Nojus Bertulis, Daniel de Oliveira and Tyson Upton collecting the win with a time of 1:29.75. 

Then it was newcomer Miguel Carvalhosa getting his first win for McKendree in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:25.75. He later went on to claim another win in the 500-yard freestyle, capping off an amazing debut meet.  

Noah Brereton claimed a second-place finish in the event with a 9:44.17. Michael Stooke found himself right outside the podium with a fourth-place finish and a time of 9:55.16. 

Jakub Rynkiewicz and Luke Asbury earned second and third place in the 200-yard freestyle with times of 1:43.00 and 1:43.54, respectively. Rynkiewicz also had a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:35.35. 

In the 100-yard backstroke, Caden Brooks and Ovanic took first and second with 50.45 and 50.72 on the clock, respectively. Brooks also took the win in the 200-yard backstroke with Asbury closely behind him in third place. 

Bertulis claimed a win in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 55.38. Atticus Sternke trailed closely behind in the event finishing third with 58.08. 

With a time of 1:51.23, Phin Theall got the win in the 200-yard butterfly for the Bearcats. De Oliveira earned second in a closely fought in a close battle for the win in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing with a 21.41, only 0.03 seconds behind first.   

Upton raced to his individual win in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.84. Theall was right behind him in second with a 46.33. Nathan Pollard had a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke finishing with 2:11.41. 

Ovanic and de Oliveira took the top two spots in the 100-yard butterfly with times of 50.24 and 50.43. 

To cap off the great meet, the group of de Oliveira, Ovanic, Bertulis and Theall finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a collective time of 1:23.37.  

Next up, the team will be traveling to Southern Illinois University for a dual meet on January 16th at 2:00 PM at Shea Natatorium.  

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