TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Wabash College opened its 2026-27 swimming and diving season Saturday with six event victories and a second-place team finish at the Indiana D3 Invitational hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
The Little Giants scored 715 points to finish second in the five-team men's competition. DePauw University won the meet with 969 points, followed by Wabash, Rose-Hulman (677.5), Franklin College (412), and Manchester University (115.5).
Ozzy Jankowski led Wabash with two individual victories and a first-place relay performance. Jankowski captured the 100-yard backstroke in 51.02 seconds and added a victory in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 52.77. He also joined Ryan West, Lew Sams, and Quinn Sweeney to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:35.19.
West added an individual victory in the 200-yard individual medley, touching the wall in 1:59.64 to edge Franklin's Will Chambley, who finished second in 1:59.86. West also placed second behind Jankowski in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 55.75. He added a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.62.
Sams claimed the top spot in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.39, finishing just ahead of Chambley, who placed second in 1:00.68. Sams added a runner-up finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.37.
Nick Plumb recorded Wabash's fifth individual victory by winning the 200-yard backstroke in 1:58.72. Plumb also placed fourth in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:27.17. Teammate Mason Gilliam finished one position ahead of Plumb in the distance event, taking third place in 10:25.21.
Sweeney contributed a pair of top-four individual finishes. He tied for third place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.25 seconds and placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle in 48.28.
The Little Giants closed the meet with a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Jankowski, Will Renie, Charlie Renie, and Sweeney combined for a time of 3:11.76, finishing behind DePauw's winning time of 3:09.97.
Wabash also received contributions from its diving squad. Michael Cruzado placed fourth in the three-meter competition with 157.15 points and seventh on the one-meter board with 162.95 points. Fox Seebach finished sixth in the three-meter event with 125.50 points and ninth in the one-meter competition with 133.45 points. Liam Fuller added an eighth-place finish in one-meter diving with 143.85 points.
"It was a great first meet for our guys," Wabash head coach Will Bernhardt said. "In the pool and on the boards we had a lot of outstanding performances. We now know a few things that we need to focus on in practice as we head into two tough meets next weekend."
The Little Giants return to Terre Haute on Friday, Oct. 23, for a 7 p.m. dual meet against Rose-Hulman before hosting Davenport University and Lewis University on Satutday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m.
