The Youngstown State men's swimming and diving program delivered numerous impressive and memorable performances highlighted by 14 school records and Gavin Webb winning his third consecutive Horizon League Title in the 1650 freestyle.

Horizon League Championship Highlights

• Gavin Webb won the 1650 free for the third straight year, clocking a school-record time of 15:09.60 to win the event by a large margin. Webb also found the podium in the 500 free for the second-straight year, finishing third with a time of 4:26.42.
• Christian Taylor finished runner-up to Webb in the 1650 free to complete the one-two finish by the Penguins. Taylor delivered a remarkable personal record, clocking a 15:27.32. In addition to Webb's podium finish in the 500 free, Taylor also swam in the final. He clocked a 4:31.52 to finish seventh.
• Cody Thill placed fourth in the three-meter dive with a score of 303.55, eclipsing the 300 mark and delivering the top Horizon League finish by a men's diver in program history.
• The Penguins opened the meet with an impressive school-record finish in the 800 free relay. The team of Gavin Webb, Christian Taylor, Jasper Liekens, and Rares Druga clocked a time of 6:37.94 to finish fourth. Leading off the squad was Webb, who set the school record in the 200 free during the relay race. 
• The men's 200 free relay team of Rares Druga, James Slessor, Darren Laing, and Gavin Redden clocked a 1:21.30 to set a new school record and finish fifth.
• In the men's one-meter dive, Zachary Lao advanced to the final and finished eighth with a score of 267.70.
• Dominic Bono clocked a 3:51.74 in the prelims of the 400 IM to break his own school record by nearly two seconds. He went onto finish fourth in the finals with a time of 3:52.95, just missing the podium. Bono also set the school record in the 200 back with a time of 1:45.54. He won the B final of the event, finishing ninth overall.
• James Slessor swam in the A final of both the 100 and 200 breast. Slessor placed sixth in both events with times of 54.64 and 1:59.84, respectively.
• Zachary Lao also earned a spot in a diving A final, placing eighth in the three-meter with a score of 234.35.

National Invitational Championship

• Gavin Webb led the Penguins with a top-three finish in the 500 free. He swam a school-record time of 4:24.69 to best his preliminary time by nearly five seconds and grab one of the top spots in the event. Webb also advanced to the A-final in the 400 IM, where he clocked a 3:54.09 for eighth place.
• James Slessor and Dominic Bono each advanced to the B final in their respective events. Slessor clocked a school-record time of 54.54 in the 100 breast to best his own program record and advance to the finals. He finished 20th in the event with a time of 54.64. Dominic Bono advanced to the B final in the 200 back where he finished 20th with a time of 1:50.06. 
• In addition to their finals' performances, Bono placed 22nd in the 400 IM with a time of 3:59.46 while Slessor placed 26th in the 200 breast with a time of 2:01.39 and 27th in the 50 breast with a time of 25.51.
• Other top-20 finishes include Christian Taylor's top-eight performance in the 1650 free and top-12 finish in the 1000 free. Taylor clocked a 15:44.26 in the 1650 free and a 9:27.84 in the 1000 free in his impressive outing. Taylor also earned a top-30 finish in the 500 free, placing 29th with a time of 4:37.23.
• Another top-30 finish by the Penguins was Jasper Liekens who rounded out the top 30 in the 200 fly with a time of 1:52.70. Rares Druga placed 29th in the 200 free with a time of 1:41.00.
• In relays, the men's squad clocked a time of 1:23.49 in the 200 free relay with Rares Druga, Kyle Mizell, James Slessor, and Gavin Redden competing. In the 200 medley relay, the same four Penguins clocked a 1:31.33 while the quartet clocked a 3:01.22 in the 400 free relay. In the 800 free relay, the team of Druga, Jasper Liekens, Christian Taylor, and Gavin Webb swam a time of 6:43.34.

Additional Highlights

• Youngstown State defeated Niagara 170-92 on Oct. 29, 2023. In addition to winning the 200 medley and 400 free relays, the Penguins won eight individual events. Aleksa Radenovic won the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 IM. Gavin Webb and Soma Albert also won multiple events with Webb earning victories in the 500 and 1000 free and Albert in the 100 and 200 back. Gavin Redden also won an event, touching first in the 100 free.
• The Penguins won 12 events at the Akron Zips Classic, finishing second in team standings. YSU showed depth by sweeping both medley relays as Soma Albert, James Slessor, Aleksa Radenovic, and Gavin Redden touched first in the 200 and 400 medley relays. The Penguins also won the 200 and 400 free relays with Rares Druga, Radenovic, Darren Laing, and Gavin Redden. Winning individual events were Slessor (100 and 200 breast), Albert (100 and 200 back), Gavin Webb (500 free), Redden (100 free), Druga (50 free), and Radenovic (200 fly).
• Zachary Lao earned the Horizon League Men's Diver of the Week award for his performance at the Akron Zips Classic. He finished runner-up in the three-meter dive, scoring a 235.40. In the one-meter dive, he scored a 258.75 to place third.
• The Penguins won 13 events against Denison. James Slessor won each event he competed in: 50 breast, 100 breast, and 100 IM to earn the Horizon League Men's Swimmer of the Week title. Also earning event wins were Rares Druga (50 back and 50 free), Gavin Webb (500 and 1000 free), Redden (100 free and 50 fly), Ales Zupanec (100 back), Chase Fyffe (100 fly), Albert (200 back). The men also won the 200 medley relay.
• Against St. Bonaventure, Brooks Adams swept the men's diving events with scores of 247.73 in the one-meter and 234.53 in the three-meter. The Penguins won the 200 medley relay while Aleksa Radenovic and James Slessor picked up individual event victories. Radenovic clocked a 1:55.06 in the 200 IM to win the event while Slessor swam a time of 56.94 to win the 100 breast.
• The Penguins won five events against Cleveland State. James Slessor swept the 100 and 200 breast. Gavin Redden won the 100 free while Gavin Webb touched first in the 500 free. Aleka Radenovic picked up a victory in the 100 fly.
• Simon Iwanonkiw broke the platform diving record at the West Virginia Invite, scoring a 251.20 to place seventh.
• Webb won the 1650 free at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational. Webb clocked a 15:18.15 in his victory in the 1650 free, finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finishes. Web also placed second in the 400 IM and third in the 500 free. 
• At the Miami (Ohio Invitational), Rares Druga, Aleksa Radenovic, Darren Laing and Gavin Redden, set school records in both the 200 and 400 free relays. Individually, Radenovic earned a runner-up bod in the 200 fly. Crispy Barton placed third in the 400 IM to add another top-three finish to the Penguins' outing in Oxford.
• Winning events against IUPUI were Gavin Redden (100 free and 50 fly) and Rares Druga (50 back).

Academic Excellence

• The Penguins had five student-athletes earn All-Academic accolades from the Horizon League. Jasper Liekens, James Slessor, Christian Taylor, and Gavin Webb were named to the 2024 Valeo Horizon League All-Academic Team while Cody Thill was named an honorable mention.
• Four Penguins were named to the 2023-24 CSC Academic All-District Team: Jasper Liekens, James Slessor, Christian Taylor, and Gavin Webb
• The program earned CSCAA Fall Scholar All-American honors with an impressive 3.63 Fall 2023 G.P.A.

Sportsmanship Award

• Terin Frodyma was selected as the recipient of the 2024 HLSD Sportsmanship Award for demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
• Frodyma, a junior and team captain of the Penguins, is a member of SAAC, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and was recently selected as Vice President for next year. 
• Head Coach Brad Smith spoke to his going above and beyond for his teammates, positive attitude, and community service initiatives as aspects of his many qualities that speak to his sportsmanship.