INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, January 5. GRAND Valley State won both the men and women team titles at the conclusion of the UIndy Invitational, completed Saturday at Ruth Lilly Fitness Center pool. The Greyhounds finished second on both sides while Lewis University took third in the standings.
GVSU took the opening event, the women's 400 medley relay, and followed with a win on the men's side as well. UIndy senior Ellie Miller won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:57.76. She also ended the day with a dominating performance in the 1650 freestyle as she touched in an NCAA A-cut time of 17:29.61, more than a full minute ahead of the field. The women's 100 butterly went to Valerie Crosby, who touched in 57.37, good for an NCAA B-standard. Erica Smith won the 100 backstroke in a 1:02.04 time.
Alex Arestis took the men's 200 freestyle in an NCAA A-cut time of 1:40.47. Arestis would later win the 50 freestyle as well (21.58). Kieran O'Neill's time of 1:56.39 earned him first place and a B-cut standard in the 200 individual medley. He also swam a leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay squad which posted a 1:27.71 clocking. Baris Ilhan earned a B-cut with his time in the mile swim, a winning 16:26.14 effort to close day one's action.
Day two saw the Lakers win the first five events contested, part of 12 GVSU wins on Saturday. Arestis broke through for UIndy with a win in the 100 freestyle (45.63), giving him another NCAA automatic qualifying mark.
The UIndy women took the 200 medley relay, touching in 1:51.43. Crosby went 2:13.64 in the 200 fly to win the race.
The Greyhound men closed the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:10.49.
Special thanks to UIndy for contributing this report.