Quincy University Announces 2024 Swimming Recruiting Class

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Courtesy: Quincy Athletics

As the Quincy University Hawks prepare to make a splash in the upcoming swim season, the excitement is palpable with the arrival of a talented new freshmen group. This class of recruits brings speed, skill and determination, poised to continue pushing this relatively new program forward.

This year Quincy has brought in 17 in the Class of ’24 (eight women and nine men). From year two to year three the program has now grown from 37 to 54 in total.

Women:

Kaitlynn Malarney

Kaitlynn comes from Charlotte, North Carolina, where she will be joining our mid-distance group this fall. While focusing on the 1000 she is also a spectacular 200 Flyer as well, coming off an outstanding performance at NCS Senior Champs this past winter. After a stint at Mecklenburg Aquatics she is ready to bring her talents to us humble riverfolk.

1000 Free -11:05.30
200 Fly- 2:13.54

Vanja Vrbanec

Vanja is from Zagreb, Croatia and she’s joining a growing number of Balkan swimmers at Quincy. She crushes the 100 and 200 fly. She is going to be a huge relay booster as well as pushing our butterfly group forward. She often finds herself on the Croatian coast, staring out across the Adriatic. Diving in for a quick swim to Morocco and back, she just asks what’s next on the menu.

100 Fly- 57.44
200 Fly- 2:11.34

Olga Pucarevic

Olga is from Belgrade, Serbia and will join the storied Hawk fly and sprint free groups. She was born to race. Walking along the razor’s edge, she pushes it to the limit, past the point of no return! Her main stroke is 100 fly but she can range into some backstroke, too. She will be a huge relay addition as well!

100 Fly- 56.69
50 Free – 24.81

Miranda Kraan

Miranda is a flyer and IMer from Platinum Aquatics in Temple, TX. Her favorite event is the 200 IM and she’ll also be swimming butterfly events for the Hawks. She is very excited to be swimming at the next level and show what she can do on the college scene. She also has 200 backstroke ability, joining many storied Hawks in that event!

200 IM- 2:22.58
100 Fly- 1:03.62

Celine Lehnard

Celine hails from Ratingen, Germany to join the Hawks this season. She is primarily a breaststroker but will also be competing in such other events as the 100 free. She adds much needed depth in the breast events and is an extremely powerful swimmer! She breathes in excellence and exhales destiny, Celine was born to ride horses and vanquish foes.

100 Breast- 1:09.54
200 Breast- 2:30.09

Ellie Benjamin

Ellie is hopping over to Illinois from Fort Wayne Swim Team in Indiana. She yearns to gobble up all the hardest events and is a huge addition to the squad as a 200 flyer and all around IMer. She is looking forward to the team culture and the environment and additionally looking forward to working with the coaching staff at Quincy. Truly a titan of this sport we call swim.

200 Fly- 2:11.22
400 IM- 4:47.88

Cassie Rankin

Cassie will be joining the Hawks mid distance group primarily swimming the 200 free and the 500 free. But she will also be competing in those shorter distances like the 100 and engaging in epic battle for those relay spots as well. She holds no prisoners and takes no quarter! We’re a little warmer than her home in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin where she just crushed Y States!

100 free- 55.89
500 free- 5:23.04

Shelby Smith

Driving up from the Sunshine State, Shelby is a sprinter focusing on the 50 and 100 freestyle. The Hawks need some speed and Shelby delivers. She will be a great addition to the relays and is going to try to knock on the door of scoring individually at the GLVC meet. She exhibits boundless energy is going to push not just the swim team but the very University to a level of excellence hitherto unexplored!

50 Free- 24.98
100 Free- 54.82

Men:

Wojchiech Chalat

Wojciech Chalat joins the Hawks from Poland, and will add to the growing open water tradition at Quincy. He has placed 4th in the junior category at the Polish open water national 10k and 2nd in the open category for the 3×1250m at the Polish open water nationals. The Hawks are grateful for his experience!

1650 – 16:03.59
1000 – 9:39.43

Juri Bauer

Another incoming freshman from Germany, Juri well will be swimming both breaststroke events and dipping his toe in backstroke as well. The Hawks are eager to have this extremely versatile freshman who is going to round out our powerful but shallow IM group and add a bit of fiery breaststroke competition.

100 Breast- 57.36
200 Breast – 2:13.32

Ben Swanton

A true distance swimmer then will be competing in the 500 and the mile for the Hawks of the Prairie. He will be a great addition to the already deep distance group, and we are excited to see what he can accomplish in his first year as a Hawk after some stellar years at Salem High School and the Farmington Family YMCA in Canton, MI. He swoops and devours field mice. Hawk.

500 Free- 4:44.32
1650 Free- 16:44.32

Brendan Worster

Brendan is a backstroke from Iowa just north of Quincy. He’s bringing a ton of potential and is no stranger to Quincy, having trained at Sheridan Swim Club right here in town. He’s going to compete for a starting backstroke spot and see his enemies driven before him!

100 Back- 50.43
200 Back- 1:54.76

Jackson Rerick

Jackson comes south from the state of North Dakota, where he had a very successful club and high school career at Grand Forks High and the Red River Valley YMCA. The Hawks are excited to have him join the mid distance group where he will be swimming the 200 free and other distance free events!

200 free – 1:44.64
500 free – 4:44.69

Denislav Koykov

Denislav, the Brute from Bulgaria gets the distinction of being Quincy’s Bad Man of the Class. Primarily focusing on distance free, he has represented Bulgaria on the international stage and has his sights set on a certain meet in Indianapolis in March. He’s not trying to beat anyone – everyone else is trying to beat him.

500 Free- 4:27.64
200 Free – 1:39.25

Lucca Arantes

Lucca is very excited to come up north, and is our lone South American representative in this class. He currently swims for Associação Atlética Banco do Brasil and is our second on the team from San Paulo, Brazil. Lucca focuses on events from the 200 free up to and including the 1650. He’s joining a stalwart group of distance hogs and he’s one of the snarfiest yard hogs of them all!

200 Free- 1:42.65
1650 Free- 16:53.64

Ben Carpeal

Ben is from Western Pennsylvania. A very versatile swimmer with his events, but when he arrives at Quincy, he will be training with the mid distance group focusing on the 500 free and both 200 and 400 IM. He wields and swings a powerful mace, decimating opponents and launching himself into the battlefield with the grace and ease of a gazelle.

400 IM- 4:22.91
500 Free- 4:56.91

Bryce Hitter

Our final incoming class of 2024 is Bryce, who is also our most far flung West Coast adventurer, from Yucaipa Swim Team in Southern California. He will be an excellent addition to our growing breaststroke group, and will bring that family environment to our ever-growing team at Quincy University.

100 Breast- 58.99
200 Breast- 2:10.48

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