Winter sports review 2025-26: Boys swim and dive
Luke Hawkins wears the sixth-place medal in the diving competition at the state meet.
Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com
The Chesterton boys didn’t win a single swim event at the DAC championship meet yet the Trojans were champions of the conference.
The Trojans and Valparaiso tied with 405 points at the championship meet and since the conference champion is determined by combining the regular season and championship meet standings, Chesterton prevailed, bringing the conference crown back home after a two-year hiatus.
Depth and well-timed training proved the difference. That and a diving team led by Luke Hawkins, Chesterton’s lone winner on the day. Hawkins went on to place sixth at the state meet.
Valparaiso edged Chesterton by two points at the sectional and the Trojans sent six swimmers to state, including Greydon Pieroni in two individual events and two relays, but none of the swimmers advanced to the second day of the competition.
Final DAC standings: 1. Chesterton, 2 tie. Valparaiso, Crown Point, 4. Lake Central, 5. Portage, 6. LaPorte, 7. Merrillville, 8. Michigan City.
All-DAC:
200 medley relay: Jack Douglas, Constantine Papachronis, Jakob Schroeder, Joseph Rojek (Valparaiso).
200 freestyle: Abel Guel (Crown Point).
200 individual medley: Joseph Rojek (Valparaiso, state 8th).
50 freestyle: Kajus Rudzevicius (Lake Central).
Diving: Luke Hawkins (Chesterton, state 6th).
100 butterfly: Jakob Schroeder (Valparaiso).
100 freestyle: Kajus Rudzevicius (Lake Central).
500 freestyle: Ben Billingsley (Lake Central).
200 freestyle relay: Kajus Rudzevicius, Timothy Hampton, Ben Billingsley, Jacob Miczek (Lake Central).
100 backstroke: Jakob Schroeder (Valparaiso).
100 breaststroke: Jakob Schroeder (Valparaiso, state 5th).
100 breaststroke: Joseph Schroeder (Valparaiso).
400 freestyle relay: Constantine Papachronis, Ian Mendoza, Jakob Schroeder, Joseph Rojek (Valparaiso, state 6th).
Most Valuable Athlete: Joseph Rijek (Valparaiso).
Chesterton awards:
Most Valuable Diver: Luke Hawkins.
Most Valuable Swimmer: Greydon Pieroni.
Sportsmanship Award: Tyler Scalf.
Mental Attitude Diving: Luke Hawkins.
Most Improved Diver: Devon Thomas.
Mental Attitude Swimming: Carl Schiller.
Most Improved Swimmer: Vlad Lutterman.