TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Conference championship season kicked off on Wednesday (Feb. 12) evening, with the Franklin swimming and diving teams facing off against their league foes on day one of the 2025 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championships.
 
The opening night saw one diving event and one relay race completed. Franklin's women sit in first place with 77 points while the men picked up 42 points and sit in second place, 10 points back of Rose-Hulman.
 
Franklin claimed a podium sweep in the three-meter diving event, with senior Kamryn Elder winning the first gold medal of her career with 409.60 points over 11 dives. Alexis Fleming earned silver with 396.05 points and Kaleigh Schuler took bronze with a score of 379.50.
 
In the 800 free relay, Franklin claimed a pair of sliver medal finishes in the championship races. The women's team of Macie McQuinn, Erin Perkins, Kat Lundy and Petal Sloan recorded a time of 7:59.10.
 
On the men's side, the quartet of Isaac Layton, Bryson Howe, Sam Hittel and Kaden Cummins claimed runner-up with a time of 6:59.62 in the championship race. In the consolation race, Jacob Stauffer, Tyler Wood, Talan Andersch and Nick Coy picked up valuable points with a runner-up finish and a time of 7:26.89.
 
Both teams are back in the pool on Thursday (Feb. 13), with day two prelims set to begin at 10:00 a.m. and the finals taking place at 5:00 p.m.