The Indiana Hoosiers competed in their annual Cream and Crimson meet on Friday, October 2nd, at Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington.
The Cream and Crimson meet is an event that occurs across IU athletics. This intra-squad exhibition meet puts the team's skills to the test.
The team came in with momentum from not only a historic season but also a strong opening showing at the College Swimming League meet, where they won 16 of 30 events and took first place.
During the inner squad meets, Paige Downey led the women's distance group with a 9:37.43 time in the 1000-yard freestyle and a 4:46.84 in the 500 free. Following close behind her was Anne Dickson with respective times of 9:50.15 and 4:50.81.
Downey's performance kicked off the season strong for the Hoosiers after Liberty Clark swept all three freestyle events at the CSL meet. Clark's 46.60 in the 100 put her in the top ten performances of all time.
Indiana also saw several strong performances in the butterfly events. Emma Belk put 1:59.13 in the women's 200, followed by Downey in 2:01.72.
Grace Hoeper put up a 1:45.41 in the women's 200 freestyle while Macky Hodges posted a 1:56.07 in the 200 backstroke. Hodges later finished the 200 individual medley in 2:04.38. Resse Tiltmann barely broke the two-minute barrier in the women's 200 IM, touching 1:59.99. Hodges followed at 2:04.38, with Ursula Ott at 2:06.55 and Zo de Fabrique at 2:08.56. On the men's side, Gabe Manteufel recorded an 8:58.06 in the 1000 freestyle ahead of Luke Ellis’ 9:25.80.
Matt King produced one of the fastest sprint performances during the exhibition when he hit 19.12 in the men's 50 freestyle. Lincoln Hofmann followed at 20.16, with Brod Engelstad at 20.33 and Landon Fike at 20.66.
The men's breaststroke and individual medley groups also entered Friday's meet following victories in the season opener. Reigning Big Ten Swimmer of the Year Josh Bey won both the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM, followed by Alexei Avakov capturing the 100 breaststroke. The Cream and Crimson meet served as a bridge between Indiana's successful debut in the CSL and its first traditional dual competition of the season. The Hoosiers return to Bloomington on October 9 at noon when they host Texas and Northwestern.
