Norman Cohen

Five All-CCIW Performers Emerge on Final Day of CCIW Championship

Porter wins second event of the meet

2/21/2026 10:28:00 PM

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. - The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's swimming and diving teams closed out their 2025-26 campaign with five more All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin swims at the conference championships Saturday, Feb. 21, at RecPlex Aquatic Center. Dan Lloyd and Brooke Walker were voted the CCIW's Co-Coaching Staff of the Year on the women's side.

Senior Natalie Porter (Danville, Ill.-Danville) hauled in her second title of the championship meet, while sophomore Tate Thomas (Joliet, Ill.-Joliet West), junior Sam Borre (Hoffman Estates, Ill.-James B. Conant) and freshmen Abby Schnittker (Lombard, Ill.-Willowbrook) and Ellen Hoover (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville Central) reeled in runner-up finishes.

Illinois Wesleyan saw a strong start to the night with a pair of outstanding performances in the 1650-yard freestyle. Thomas saw an impressive drop from his seed time as he touched in with a career-best 16:19.87 to take second in the event. His top-three placement was good for the first all-conference nod of his career, with his time coming in nearly 20 seconds better than his previous career-best.

Porter completed her title defense in the event on the women's side. Porter clocked in a personal-best time 17:31.53 to win the 1650 freestyle title for the third straight season. It marked her second event win of the championship and the first three-peat by a Titan since Meg Stanley won the event in four straight championships (2014-2017).

After dropping six seconds from her seed time in prelims, Borre maintained her position in the prelims to finish second in the 200-yard backstroke finals. In personal-best fashion, Borre earned All-CCIW honors, touching in 2:07.80.

Schnittker also earned runner-up honors, coming in the 100-yard freestyle via a career-best 53.64. The freshman went one-tenth of a second fast in the final to edge out the third-place finisher by .11. Fellow freshman, Hoover shaved half a second off her morning swim to secure all-conference honors in the 200-yard butterfly. The Naperville, Ill. native touched in at 2:14.29, a career-best, to edge out the third-place finisher by less than one-tenth of a second.

Senior Kayleigh Kuschewski (Batavia, Ill.-Batavia) touched in with a career-best time of 2:31.77 in the 200-yard breaststroke to earn fourth-place. Competing in the 'B' final, sophomore Caroline Stenger (Westlake, Ohio-Westlake) grabbed 15th with a personal-best time of 2:45.34.

In the men's 200-yard butterfly, sophomore Jacob Nacional (Bolingbrook, Ill.-Bolingbrook) jumped up one slot from his prelims ranking. Nacional clocked a 2:01.39 to snag seventh-place.

Sophomore Ben Huk (Des Plaines, Ill.-Maine West) climbed three places from his prelims ranking to grab 12th-place in the 200-yard breaststroke behind a career-best time of 2:15.86.

Sophomores Julia Jozwiak (McHenry, Ill.-Wauconda) and Isabella Cano (River Grove, Il.-East Leyden) placed 14th and 15th, respectively in the 100-yard free.

Senior Jay Jenkins (Aurora, Ill.-West Aurora), swimming in the final solo race of his career, bested the rest of the field in the 'B" final of the 200-yard backstroke to take ninth. Jenkins touched in at 1:59.67, breaking the two-minute mark for the first time in his career, and more than four seconds ahead of the 10th-place finisher.

In the final team standings, the IWU women registered 505 points, good for fourth-place. On the men's side, the Titans also battled to a fourth-place finish, collecting 213 points. IWU posted three event wins, nine all-conference performances, and countless season and career-bests over the course of the meet. Jenkins and junior Claire Paule (Godfrey, Ill.-Alton) were tabbed the team's CCIW RESPECT Award recipients.

IWU Individual Results
*indicates personal-best

Men's 200 Back - Prelims
9. Jay Jenkins 2:00.18

Women's 200 Back - Prelims
2. Sam Borre 2:09.00
17. Libby Hamer 2:34.10*

Women's 100 Free - Prelims
2. Abby Schnittker 53.74
14. Isabella Cano 56.76*
15. Julia Jozwiak 57.20

Men's 200 Breast - Prelims
12. Ben Huk 2:16.97

Women's 200 Breast - Prelims
5. Kayleigh Kuschewski 2:33.74
15. Caroline Stenger 2:45.31*

Men's 200 Fly - Prelims
7. Jacob Nacional 2:02.57

Women's 200 Fly - Prelims
2. Ellen Hoover 2:14.73

Men's 1650 Free - Finals
2. Tate Thomas 16:19.87*

Women's 1650 Free - Finals
1. Natalie Porter 17:31.53
5. Claire Paule 18:29.66*
11. Julianna Boyle 19:07.07
15. Emilee Spicer 20:22.80
18. Caroline Stenger 21:04.26

Men's 200 Back - Finals
9. Jay Jenkins 1:59.67*

Women's 200 Back - Finals
2. Sam Borre 2:07.80

Women's 100 Free - Finals
2. Abby Schnittker 53.64
14. Julia Jozwiak 56.77
15. Isabella Cano 57.25

Men's 200 Breast - Finals
12. Ben Huk 2:15.86*

Women's 200 Breast - Finals
4. Kayleigh Kuschewski 2:13.28*

Men's 200 Fly - Finals
6. Jacob Nacional 2:01.39

Women's 200 Fly - Finals
2. Ellen Hoover 2:14.29*

CCIW Men's Swimming Student-Athlete of the Meet
Mark Addison, Augustana

CCIW Men's Swimming & Diving First-Year Student-Athlete of the Meet
AJ Landorf, Carthage

CCIW Men's Diving Student-Athlete of the Meet
Taydin Murphy, Carthage

CCIW Men's Swimming & Diving Elite 26 Award Recipient
Mark Addison, Augustana

CCIW Men's Swimming & Diving Coach Staff of the Year
Augustana

CCIW Men's Swimming & Diving RESPECT Award Recipients
Sam Kulisek, Augustana
Eli Griggs Leroux, Carroll
Jared Loos, Carthage
Jay Jenkins, Illinois Wesleyan
Jacob Bloom, Millikin
Griffin Laurin, North Central
David Stevenson, Wheaton

CCIW Women's Swimming Student-Athlete of the Meet
Tess Boyer, Wheaton

CCIW Women's Swimming & Diving First-Year Student-Athlete of the Meet
Lydia Hansen, Wheaton

CCIW Women's Diving Student-Athlete of the Meet
Lara Stamp, Wheaton

CCIW Women's Swimming & Diving Elite 26 Award Recipient
Kendle Mihm, Augustana

CCIW Women's Swimming & Diving Co-Coaching Staff of the Year
Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton

CCIW Women's Swimming RESPECT Award Recipients
Genevieve Ryan, Augustana
Natalie Oldenburg, Carroll
Aidan Cote, Carthage
Claire Paule, Illinois Wesleyan
Audrey Korniak, Millikin
Amelia Minarik, North Central
Made Emmitt, Wheaton

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