INDIANA, Pa. --- The swimmers of the Golden Eagles men's swimming & diving team kicked off the 2025-26 season with a pair wins, taking the titles at both the Crimson Hawk Fall Invitational and the IUP Sprint Frenzy on Friday at Pidgeon Natatorium.
 
Crimson Hawk Fall Invitational – 1^st of 5, 458 pts.
 
RECAP: The Golden Eagles featured the winning swimmer or relay team in six of the seven events in the early meet of the day, winning both relays – the 400 Medley and the 400 Free – and taking four of the five individual races. As such, more than a handful of Golden Eagles hit conference qualifying marks for the first time this season.
 
Dominic Cortopassi and Gavin Guckavan were part of both winning relays and also added individual wins, taking the titles in the 100 Fly and the 100 Breast respectively. Cortopassi touched the wall in the 100 Fly in a time of 51.04, while Guckavan paced the field in the 100 Breast with a time of 59.17.
 
The day started with the 400 Medley Relay team of Mason Peck, Gavin Guckavan, Dominic Cortopassi and Mason Irwin winning by hundredths of a second, with the Golden Eagle quartet touching the wall in a time of 3:33.35. That was .02 seconds faster than the competing foursome from IUP, who finished in a time of 3:33.37. The same four Golden Eagles – configured in the order of Cortopassi, Peck, Irwin and Guckavan – won the 400 Free Relay in a time of 3:14.60, topping the Crimson Hawks' unit that finished in 3:17.28.
 
Connor Hoy earned a win in his first individual collegiate race, pacing the field in the 200 IM. The freshman finished in a time of 1:59.21, more than three full seconds ahead of Edinboro's Caleb Ludlow. He just missed out on a win in the 200 Free, taking second with a time of 1:46.31. Also winning in his collegiate debut was Jacob Rider, with the freshman placing first in the 100 Back with a time of 53.65.
 
IUP Sprint Frenzy – 1^st of 5, 524 pts.
 
RECAP: The Golden Eagle men were once again able to rack up a half-dozen event wins, including both the 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Relay. Mason Peck, Dominic Cortopassi, Gavin Guckavan and Mason Irwin won the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:36.60, topping Edinboro's foursome by over a second, while the "B" team of Jacob Rider, Rich Scholer, Joey Margit and Dylan Chaky took third in 1:39.50. Peck, Guckavan, Chaky and Irwin later won the 200 Free Relay with a time of 1:28.64.
 
Cortopassi put up a pair of individual wins in Friday's shorter events, taking the 100 IM with a time of 52.96 and the 50 Breast in a time of 27.19. Peck was the winner in the 50 Fly, touching the wall in a time of 23.97, while Rider won the 50 Back with a time of 25.05.