Senior Day Highlights Busy Final Home Weekend at Pool

HOME WEEKEND MEET INFORMATION
Purdue Men host Southern Illinois
Friday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m.
Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue Women host Illinois & Men’s Intrasquad
Saturday, Jan. 10 at 11 a.m.
Senior Day Ceremony at 10:30 a.m.
Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center / West Lafayette, Ind.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Headlined by Saturday morning’s annual Senior Day ceremony, the final home weekend at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center is a busy one as the Purdue Swimming & Diving teams welcome a pair of visitors from the Land of Lincoln for dual meet action.

The Purdue men host Southern Illinois on Friday at 2 p.m. ET. Saturday’s meet features the Purdue women hosting Illinois and Purdue’s men’s swimmers also competing for a unique three-team intrasquad. Saturday’s festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. with the Senior Day Ceremony, followed by competition at 11 a.m.

The Boilermaker Xtra Special train will be on deck Saturday morning as 21 student-athletes – nine men and 12 women – are recognized for their contributions to Purdue Swimming & Diving.

Admission is free for all home meets at the Burke Aquatic Center.

PURDUE SWIMMING & DIVING’S CLASS OF 2026

MEN • Wyatt Blair – Fort Worth, Texas • Maxwell Blume – West Lafayette • Dylan Burau – Wheaton, Ill. • Cooper Callahan – Marion, Iowa • Gabe Eschbach – Westville • Alex Hotta (Senior Transfer) – Tokyo, Japan • Andy Kelly – Wilmette, Ill. • Griffin Poulsen – Munster • Raymond Whittaker – Winthrop, Mass. TEAM MANAGERS • Tom Huynh – Fort Wayne • Sloane Kerksa – Rochester Hills, Mich. • Graham Seaver – Carmel • Mackenzie Wills – Carmel

WOMEN • Mya Bailey – East Chicago • Kelsey Cooper – Dublin, Ohio • Brinly Hardy – Louisville, Ky. • Ashley Lund – Rockford, Mich. • Grace Lux – Fishers • Abby Marcukaitis – Middleville, Mich. • Reagan Mattice – Zionsville • Ana Rojas – Colorado Springs, Colo. • Kaitlin Simons – Middlebury • Kate Stanley – Bloomfield Hills, Mich. • Daryn Wright – Plainfield FIFTH YEAR • Hannah Hill – Springboro, Ohio

The Boilermakers are closing out their on-campus winter training program this week before classes resume with the start of the spring semester Monday. In dual meet action this season, the Purdue women are 4-0 and the men are 3-1.

The Purdue women have won five consecutive duals vs. Illinois since the series resumed as an annual home-and-home in January 2021. The Boilermakers set pool records in the 100 backstroke (Abby Marcukaitis) and 400 freestyle relay in Champaign last year.

Meanwhile, Southern Illinois is no stranger to the Burke Aquatic Center. The Salukis have competed at nine of the 12 editions of the Purdue Invitational, the midseason showcase in November that debuted in 2003. That’s the most appearances of any visiting team. SIU competed at the Purdue Invite each of the last three years it has been held – November 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Platform diving will be contested at the Burke Aquatic Center for the first time this season at both meets this weekend. Divers will have the option of competing from 3-meter or the platforms during the first diving event of both meets (1-meter will also be contested for event No. 2). Purdue’s men’s divers are not planning to compete Saturday.

Friday’s dual vs. SIU is set to feature two heats of all individual swimming events. While some exhibition entries will be in the outside lanes (1-2, 7-8) of heat 1, the spotlight will be on the middle lanes (3-6) in both heats. It’s also a unique order of events planned for Friday, with the dual featuring both the 200 and 400 IM plus the mile serving as the traditional mid-meet break in the action.

The Purdue men also split up into three teams of nine for the Senior Day intrasquad. Captains Dylan Burau, Maxwell Blume and Andy Kelly took the lead in selecting their rosters and the Boilermakers opted to hold two informal sessions of racing on Jan. 2 and Jan. 6 prior to the public finale Saturday. Members of the three teams – Full Steam Ahead (black), the Petes (white) and Saturn V (gold) – will each wear specific color caps to differentiate the squads.

ORDER OF EVENTS
Friday vs. SIU (2 Heats of 4 Swimmers, Lanes 3-6) • 400 Medley Relay • 500 Free • 200 IM • 100 Fly • 200 Breast • 200 Back • 50 Free • 1650 Free (as the Meet Break) • 200 Free • 200 Fly • 100 Back • 100 Free • 400 IM • 200 Free Relay Diving Contested Concurrently • 1st Event: Choose 3-Meter or Platform • 2nd Event: 1-Meter	Saturday at Intrasquad • 800 Free Relay • 1000 Free • 200 Fly • 50 Free • 100 IM • 200 Back • 200 Breast • 50 Underwater Kick • 4x100 IM Relay (400 Relay) • Unofficial 10th Event: Everyone Swims a 50 Free as a 28-man relay (all in the same lane) – Freshmen first through Seniors • Contested Concurrently with: Purdue Women vs. Illinois as 16-Event Default Dual Lineup
Saturday’s Order of Swimming Events: W-200 Medley Relay, M-800 Free Relay, W-1000 Free, M-1000 Free, W-100 Back, W-100 Breast, M-200 Fly, W-200 Fly, W-50 Free, M-50 Free, [Meet Break], W-100 Free, M-100 IM, W-200 Back, W-200 Breast, M-200 Back, W-500 Free, M-200 Breast, W-100 Fly, M-50 Underwater Kick, M-400 IM Relay, W-400 Free Relay

 

SATURDAY’S INTRASQUAD TEAMS
Full Steam Ahead – Black Caps • Wyatt Blair • Lucas Byrd • Cooper Callahan • Alexander Cole • Brody Friend • Biko Hooper-Haviland • Alex Hotta • Andy Kelly • Sam White	The Petes – White Caps • Dylan Burau • Gabe Eschbach • Jonah Lee • Evan Mackesy • Gio Mango • Walker Mattice • Griffin Poulsen • Matt Rose • Blake Rowe	Saturn V – Gold Caps • Chris Bartmess • Maxwell Blume • Janis Dzirkalis • Jonny Hines • Will Jost • Mason Kajfosz • Charles Lee • Brody LePine • Nathaniel Thomas • Raymond Whittaker

SENIOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Combined Totals Among Purdue’s 21 Student-Athletes Honored Saturday (including fifth-year Boilermaker Hannah Hill)
1 – Appearance at the Olympic Games
1 – Purdue Relay Record
1 – Purdue Freshman Record
1 – Former Individual Purdue Record (Since Broken)
1 – CSC Academic All-District Honor
2 – Purdue Graduates
2 – Big Ten Medals
2 – Big Ten Sportsmanship Honors
2 – Former Purdue Freshman Records (Since Broken)
3 – Appearances at World Aquatics Championships
3 – Appearances at the NCAA Championships
3 – Individual Purdue Records
4 – All-America Honors at NCAAs
6 – USA Diving Medals (during NCAA career)
6 – CSCAA Scholar All-America Honors
7 – Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Honors
13 – Big Ten Weekly Honors
24 – Spots Among the Purdue All-Time Top 15 in Individual Events
24 – Spots Among the Purdue All-Time Top 10 Relay Rankings
27 – Academic All-Big Ten Honors

2025-26 TEAM LEADERS
MEN’S INDIVIDUAL VICTORY LEADERS • Jānis Dzirkalis – 6 • Blake Rowe – 6 • Evan Mackesy – 4 • Max Miller – 3 • Pat Broderick – 2 • Alex Hotta – 2 • Zach Welsh – 2	WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL VICTORY LEADERS • Daryn Wright – 8 • Abby Marcukaitis – 6 • Reagan Mattice – 5 • Lara Phipps – 5 • Caitlin Hurley – 4 • Kate Mouser – 3 • Campbell Scofield – 3
CONTRIBUTED TO MOST RELAY WINNERS • Jānis Dzirkalis – 8 • Alex Hotta – 6 • Nathaniel Thomas – 6 • Dylan Burau – 4 • Andy Kelly – 4 • Jonah Lee – 4 • Brody LePine – 4	CONTRIBUTED TO MOST RELAY WINNERS • Lara Phipps – 5 • Hannah Hill – 4 • Caitlin Hurley – 3 • Adele Sands – 3 • Four Tied with 2

 

ACTIVE BOILERMAKERS TO WIN EVENTS VS. ILLINOIS THE LAST 2 YEARS
2024 IN WEST LAFAYETTE As part of Triple Dual with Missouri • Caitlin Hurley – 500 & 1000 Free • Abby Marcukaitis – 100 Back • Daryn Wright – Platform Diving (Exhibition)	2025 IN CHAMPAIGN • Daryn Wright – 1-Meter Diving • Caitlin Hurley – 500 Free • Reagan Mattice – 1000 Free • Abby Marcukaitis – 100 Back (Pool Record) & 200 Back • Keira Kask – 100 Fly • Campbell Scofield – 200 Fly • Phipps, Sands, Hurley & Love – 400 Free Relay (Pool Record)