Seven Penguins Honored as Part of 2026 Valeo #HLSD All-Academic Teams

The Youngstown State men's and women's swimming and diving programs were well-represented across the 2026 Valeo Horizon League Swimming and Diving All-Academic Teams, the league announced Thursday.

Hanna Held, Allison Ramirez Romero, and Olivia Sweetman were named to the Women's All-Academic Team, while Jacob Gramer, Zachary Lao, and James Slessor were named to the Men's All-Academic Team, and Lorenz Beck was an honorable mention selection as well.

Held, a junior Biochemistry major, owns a 3.41 GPA and is making her first appearance on the Horizon League All-Academic Team. She is a one-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll and two-time member of the Dean's List at YSU. She totaled five event victories this season, winning the one-meter dive three times and three-meter dive twice. Hanna finished as the runner-up in the three-meter dive at the Horizon League Championships with a score of 270.05.

Ramirez Romero, a senior Physics and Astronomy major, owns a 3.46 GPA and is making her first appearance as a member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team. She is a one-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll and has appeared on both the Dean's List and President's List three times each during her time at YSU. She placed first in the 200 fly at the YSU Invitational earlier this season. Allison had two third-place finishes at the Horizon League Championships, placing third in the 100 fly with a time of 55.90, and third in the 200 fly with a time of 2:03.8.

Sweetman, a sophomore majoring in Business Management, owns a 4.00 GPA and is making her first appearance on the Horizon League All-Academic Team. She is a three-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll and five-time member of the Dean's List at YSU. Sweetman was named the Horizon League Women's Swimmer of the Meet at this year's Horizon League Championships, the highest individual honor for a swimmer at the meet after winning three events, finishing first in the 200 free with a time of 1:48.7, 500 free with a time of 4:49.3, and 1650 free with a time of 16:46.3. Overall, Sweetman won 16 events this season for the 'Guins.

Gramer, a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering, owns a 3.52 GPA and is making his first appearance on the Horizon League All-Academic Team. He is a one-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll as well as being named to the YSU Dean's List twice. Gramer won three events this season, the 50 fly and 50 free during the YSU Invitational, while also winning the 50 free during a dual vs. IU Indy. At the Horizon League Championships, he was part of the 200-medley relay team that finished third at the Horizon League Championships and also finished fifth individually in the 100 fly with a time of 47.15, fifth in the 50 free with a time of 20.01, and seventh in the 100 free with a time of 44.33.

Lao, a senior majoring in Astronomy & Astrophysics, owns a 3.85 GPA and is making his first appearance as a member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team. He is a two-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll, six-time member of the Dean's List at YSU, and three-time member of the President's List. Lao claimed one victory during the season, winning the one-meter dive with a score of 319.90. At the Horizon League Championships, he finished fourth in the three-meter dive with a score of 279.75 and finished seventh in the one-meter dive with a score of 259.65.

Slessor, a senior majoring in Business Management, is making his second appearance on the Horizon League All-Academic Team after also being dubbed with the honor last season as well. He is a five-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll, six-time Dean's List member at YSU, and a six-time President's List member as well. Slessor won the 50 breaststroke at the YSU Invitational this season. At the Horizon League Championships, he finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 52.68 while also being part of the third-place 200-medley relay team and fifth-place 400-medley relay squad,

Beck, a sophomore majoring in Exercise Science, owns a 3.61 GPA and is making his first appearance as a member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team, this time as an honorable mention. He is a one-time member of the HL Academic Honor Roll and three-time Dean's List member at YSU. Beck won three events this season, winning the 100 fly during a dual vs. Cleveland State, and 100 free and 200 free events during the YSU Invitational, while also helping the men's 800-free relay squad to a runners-up finish at the Horizon League Championships.

A total of 35 student-athletes were named to the All-Academic Teams and an additional two student-athletes were named Honorable Mentions in balloting by the League's faculty athletics representatives.

The Horizon League recognizes student-athletes with seasonal Academic All-League Teams in each of its 19 championship sports. To be eligible for Horizon League All-Academic consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution, having earned 24 semester-hour or 36 quarter-hour credits, and participate in 50 percent of the team's overall contests.

2025-26 Valeo Women's #HLSD All-Academic Team

Ellie Seiter, Cleveland State
Mackenzie Barnett, Green Bay
Kaylee Dexter, IU Indy
Alaina Heyde, IU Indy
Addy Hirsbrunner, IU Indy
Luca McGee, IU Indy
Victoria Surdyka, IU Indy
Christiana Brooks, Milwaukee
Natalie DiProspero, Milwaukee
Mara Freeman, Milwaukee
Grace Albrecht, Oakland
Mia Englender, Oakland
Kelley Hassett, Oakland
Erika Puertas, Oakland
Viviane Partridge, Oakland
Clarissa Bezuidenhout, Oakland
Hanna Held, Youngstown State
Allison Ramirez Romero, Youngstown State
Olivia Sweetman, Youngstown State

2025-26 Valeo Men's #HLSD All-Academic Team

Tyler Schulze, Cleveland State
Kaled Lombard, Green Bay
Zach Drotar, IU Indy
William Gorman, IU Indy
Youssef Magdy, IU Indy
Declan Taylor, IU Indy
Isaac Wilson, IU Indy
Andrew Jones, Milwaukee
Charles Brown, Oakland
Joseph "Joey" Countryman, Oakland
Max Haney, Oakland
Carson Ricker, Oakland
Nicholas Karel Subagyo, Oakland
Jacob Gramer, Youngstown State
Zachary Lao, Youngstown State
James Slessor, Youngstown State