At Rice University this weekend, the University of St. Thomas Celts' Swim teams set the bar for the program as they participated in their first ever meet against Loyola (LA) and Southwestern. The group of freshman swimmers battled all weekend against a top-15 NAIA team and a conference foe, showing they're ready to make waves in their first season of competition.

The weekend kicked off Saturday evening when Kelsy Elgar, Ava Verret, Emely Lopez and Allyson Pantin competed in the women's 200 yard medley relay, the first event in Celt Swim history. They posted a time of 2:05.36. The Celts' first men's race was the same event, as Lucas Blado, Josiah Mendez, Charlie Wallace and Dakota Smith recorded a time of 1:47.39.

Across 18 events, the women's team was able to secure a pair of top-3 finishes. Kelsy Elgar finished third in the women's 100-yard individual medley (1:09.36) and 200-yard freestyle (2:12.98) to lead a respectable opening effort for the team. Ava Verret posted a strong time in the women's 100-yard butterfly (1:05.68) and anchored two of the three relay teams for the women's team.

The men's team combined to produce 6 top-3 finishes in their 20 events, a strong showing for their debut considering the tough competition. Oscar Mayorga was the main star for the men's team, posting third place times in the men's 200-yard freestyle (1:50.03) and 500-yard freestyle (5:04.62) on Saturday before claiming the first top finish in program history Sunday morning in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:25.45. Lucas Blado also posted a pair of top-3 times in the men's 100-yard backstroke (59.04) and 200-yard backstroke (2:10.40).

Next up for the Celts is a time trial event with Rice University on October 27 before they head to their next competition meet at Trinity, beginning Friday, November 3.