"To be able to do that in year three… I know we're a young team, but that's something that happens in your first or second meet ever, or your championship meet in year one. It's never supposed to happen again, and it happened in year three for us in the middle of October. We'll probably do it a couple of different times this year, because that's how together this team is."

Lake Superior State Swimming Head Coach Tim O'Neill was blown away by what he saw from his teams. He knew how good his young swimmers can become and expects that the Lakers will regularly change the record books this season. But you don't generally rewrite the entire thing a few years after the team is formed. Not unless you're cooking with some special ingredients.

Lake Superior State's Swim teams set 22 new program records on Friday and Saturday at Davenport's October Invitational. In the process, LSSU won the Women's 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - the first ever relay victory for LSSU - Zita Gonda won the Women's 100 Yard Backstroke, while Anna Racz won the 200 Back. Gonda took second in the event, marking the first time Laker swimmers finished 1-2. The Laker women also defeated St. Ambrose University, earning 517.5 points at the meet to St. Ambrose's 309, the first time an LSSU swim team has defeated an opponent. The men's team trailed Aquinas 434.5-433.

A key note: every other team at the meet had double the roster size of both Laker teams. Smaller rosters have a massive impact on team scores.

It was an excellent weekend at the pool for Lake Superior State.

"I'm ecstatic," O'Neill said afterward. "The performance from the team as a whole, coming together to perform better in events that they might not have seen themselves swimming shows a resounding effort."

Gonda stood out for her performances throughout the weekend. Not only did she win the 100 Back, she finished second in the 200 Back, swam very well in a second place finish in the 200 Free Relay, placed third in the 50 Free, and swam second in the winning relay team for the 400 Free. It was an outstanding meet for the Hungarian.

The Lakers won the 400 Free Relay with a team of Sara Delic, Gonda, Constanza Areco Sancho, and Patricia de Leu. Gonda dominated the second leg of the race, putting the Lakers in front. It proved critical, as the Lakers won with under a half second separating first from third.

Racz took third in the 400 IM. Combined with her victory in the 200 Back and a second place finish in the 200 Fly, she delivered big results for LSSU.

Even more than individual performances, O'Neill was thrilled to see the drive of his teams. Many of the Lakers' best swims came at the end of the meet, in Saturday's second session. The Lakers attacked the final third of the meet with gusto.

"that's the type of team I'm trying to build," he said. "We don't shy away from the last session. We leaned into it, and showed that we're capable of that in six or seven weeks of becoming a group. We have 13 newcomers with 12 first-years. They are able to face things head on together. 1-2 in the 200 Back for the women, 2-3 in the 200 Fly for the men and a win in the women's 400 Free Relay. What more can any coach ask for in the last session of a meet?"

The team spirit caught O'Neill's eye as well. He praised his swimmers for how they've bonded over their first several weeks together.

"I really see us coming together,' he said. "The first meet at Findlay showed they're going to be supportive of each other. But this meet showed that we're going to push each other to the next level together and achieve the things that we're capable of as a unit, as opposed to one swimmer. It's the men's side, the women's side and combined. They're rooting on each other, a really supportive group. The women finish their relay after a win and they're right back to cheer on the guys. It's a team effort here, and they're embracing that."

On the men's side, Sergej Trbojevic had a good meet, taking third in the 200 Fly, fourth in the 500 Free and fourth in the 400 IM. The first-year swimmer from Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to perform well in distance events for LSSU. O'Neill said he can be a "real weapon" in championship formats.

Laurel Roberts-Burrell finished second in the 200 Fly, missing first by 0.5 seconds. His second meet for Lake State continued to show his quality against excellent competition.

To his team, the head coach's message is simple. "Lean into what you saw this weekend. We're more capable than we are separate. Times will come."

To their opponents, the message is equally simple. "Embrace that we're going to be here. Welcome the opportunity to race us."