The Eastern men’s and women’s swim team performed well at the Indiana State Relay Meet this weekend as the men’s team finished second and women’s team finished third.

The women went up against Saint Louis, Indiana State, and Maryville, whereas the men’s team only swam against Saint Louis and Maryville.

This meet was seen as a fun meet because there were no individual events, just relays. For the Panthers, their main goal this weekend was to not only try and win, but to have a relaxed and fun meet.

“This past weekend helped remind the team how important having fun is,” freshman Scott House said. “A relay meet was a great meet for us to get our minds in the right place. It’s always a good time when you get to compete alongside great friends.”

House was a part of three relays that all finished in the top three: 800-free relay (7:11.58), 100-medley relay (44.97), and the 400-free relay (3:16.20). House said he was pleased with how his 100-free went, especially following up his time last weekend.

Even though House was a part of three successful relays, he realizes there still needs to make improvements before the next meet.

“I struggled a bit in the 200,” House said, “but it exposed some technique issues that I’ll be working on with coach Jacqueline the rest of the season.”

For the women’s swim team, senior Emily Stroud was a part of the 3×100-back relay team that finished ahead of Maryville with a time of 3:09.37. She also swam in the 100-medley relay with three other swimmers, posting a 53.81 time.

The women’s team combined for 52 points, a decent overall score. Stroud said the team is pleased with their performance and because it was a more of a relaxed meet, it came at a great time.

“It was a fun meet and we needed that at this point in our season,” Stroud said. “We have a long season. It’s important to make sure that energy is back up to finish the season strong.”

Stroud has been dealing with a list of injuries since her freshman year: a twisted rib, a severely stretched nerve in her left shoulder, and an advanced thoracic outlet in the same shoulder. With that being said, Stroud was still recovering from the meet two weekends ago.

“Right now, my focus is on being healthy,” Stroud said. “House of Champions was a lot for my body after being injured.”

After having two meets within the past three weeks, the Panthers will have over a month off before their next meet. The Panther swimmers will not have another meet until Jan. 13, when they will travel to Evansville, Ind.

Adam Shay can be reached at 581-2812 or acshay@eiu.edu