CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Red Wave continued to build momentum on day three of the 2025 Delta State Thanksgiving Invitational, highlighted by multiple A-final appearances, major point-scoring depth, and another strong relay performance from the men's squad.
The evening opened with the 100-yard butterfly, where the Reddies collected multiple top finishes. Colin Candebat led the Red Wave with a runner-up performance in 49.33, followed closely by Stevie Balistreri in fourth at 49.98. Vitor Sa added a seventh-place finish to give HSU three swimmers in the A-final. Cody Bauer, Reid Remmert, and Tristin Ferguson picked up valuable points from the B-final, while Parker Stewart, Nihar Vitthanala, and Van Stangl contributed from the C-final. For the women, Irem Erktan led HSU with an eighth-place A-final finish, while Jennifer Montier and Allie Rhodes added points in the B-final.
In the 400-yard IM, the Red Wave men turned in one of their strongest events of the evening. Nojus Skirutis claimed second place in 4:00.36, with Hunter Rytting close behind in fourth. Emiliano Pina and Jack Groce added additional A-final points while Afonso Campanico added depth from the B-final.
The women posted several scoring performances in the 200-yard freestyle, highlighted by Iris McNamara's B-final swim of 1:56.24. Additional points came from Ryann Grasser, Shelby Travis, Tayden Drake, and Daniela Ruiz in the C-final.
The men's 200-yard freestyle featured another deep showing from the Red Wave. Alan González Mujica placed fifth in the A-final, followed by Colton Bennett in seventh. Scott Doll won the B-final with a time of 1:42.38, while Bartu Akin, Thomas Landreneau, Aiden Killackey, and Elijah Johnston all had strong swims.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, the trio of Avery Henke (5th), Oskar Cebula (6th), and Gavin Kock (8th) represented HSU in the A-final, while Cam Mask, Benjamin Skinner, Donovan Stangl, and Kyle Moore performed well across the B and C finals.
The women were led by Emma Crowe in the 100 backstroke, capturing third place in 55.52. Delaney Smith and Allie Rhodes also competing in the C-final.
The men followed with another deep backstroke event, placing four swimmers in the A-final. Aiden Eckard (4th), Eli Westbrook (5th), Ethan Priddle (6th), and Olivér Pózvai (8th) combined for a large point total heading into the final relay.
HSU closed the night with the 400-yard medley relays. The women's A-relay of Emma Crowe, Monroe Chittum, Irem Erktan, and Shelby Travis posted a sixth-place finish, with the B-relay adding additional points. The men capped the session with a strong runner-up finish from the A-relay of Henke, Cebula, Candebat, and Pózvai in a season-best 3:17.27, while the B-relay contributed another scoring effort.
With strong swims throughout the lineup, the Red Wave head into the final day of competition looking to finish the Invitational on a high note.
