Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu
Written by: Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication
 
CHICAGO, Ill. (Jan. 10, 2026) – Competing for the first time in over a month, the North Central College swimming and diving team made the short trip to Chicago for a dual with Illinois Institute of Technology. The men fell 11-145 to the Scarlet Hawks while the women totaled two first-place finishes and 42 points to IIT's 109.
 
North Central's mixed 200 yard medley relay quartet of Caitlin Suda, Mihir Chandra, Celina McDaniel and Clark Wilson won the event by a three-second margin, clocking a time of 1:52.86. The Cardinals mixed 200 yard freestyle relay of Wilson, Ayla Pequette, Addison Bludgen, and Chandra finished second in 1:48.53.
 
On the women's side, the Cardinals' day was highlighted by a pair of event wins from Abigael Sheldon and Pequette.
 
Sheldon secured the event win in the 200 yard individual medley in 2:27.10, narrowly out-touching IIT's Taryn Oser who clocked in at 2:27.39. Pequette led the way in the 100 yard freestyle, with a winning time of 1:01.0, a season best time for the sophomore while teammate Bludgen finished third in 1:02.65. Bludgen also posted a third-place finish in the 50 free with a season best time of 28.39 seconds.
 
Turning in a second-place finish in the 200 yard backstroke was Suda, who posted a 2:38.93 mark in the event.
 
Sydney Sprayberry posted a trio of third-place finishes on the day. Her finishing time of 12:54.24 was good for third in the 1000 yard freestyle, adding to her third place finish in the 500 yard free (6:15.44). Sprayberry also competed in the 100 yard breaststroke, turning in a 1:16.49 effort.
 
The North Central men saw Chandra post a third-place finish in the 50 free with a 22.75-second effort, his second fastest time in the event this season. He also posted a third-place performance in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.73) with the top three swimmers separated by one second.

Griffin Laurin finished fifth in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:00.51. Wilson finished fifth in the 100 yard freestyle in a season-best time of 56.18 seconds. He also placed sixth in the 50 yard freestyle after clocking a 25.29-second effort.
 
North Central returns to action Saturday, Jan. 17 for a dual with Monmouth College at 1 p.m.  in the Pepper Natatorium.