SAN ANTONIO, Texas -  The McMurry University swimming programs received their biggest test of the season, thus far, by competing in the three-day Trinity University Invitational last weekend.  The meet was held at the Palo Alto College aquatics center.
 
Both squads placed ninth in the final standings versus a strong field, dominated by NCAA Division II competitors. Also included were NCAA III powers like host Trinity, Colorado College, and Southwestern. Trinity won the women's flight and Henderson State University took the men's title.
 
For McMurry head coach Casey Pacheco, the competition was not as much about placements as it was about his War Hawks charges pushing themselves, as they strive to improve ahead of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in February. After the challenging weekend at the Trinity Invitational, Pacheco liked what he saw.
 
"Our swimmers had a pretty good weekend hitting many season best times against some top NCAA Division II teams, Pacheco said. "They embraced the challenges and performed at a very high level. We are proud of their performances after a grueling three days of competition."
 
Pacheco cited women's senior Monica Flores and men's senior Jerick Pena for their efforts at Trinity. Also, newcomers Alec Satre and Ethan Sykes caught Pacheco's eye with their weekend efforts. "(Satre and Sykes) had really impressive swims, especially leading our 400 Freestyle Relay with two :49's," Pacheco said. "Ethan posted a season-best :49, even after coming out of the 200 fly finals."
 
McMurry will next be in action on Saturday, December 1 when it travels to Sherman, Texas for a dual meet versus Austin College. That competition will wrap up the events for calendar year 2018, with the War Hawks swimming at the Austin College Invitational on January 5, 2019, after that.