Lengthy road trips can lead to cramped muscles, loss of sleep, and irritability. 

Not for the Aqua Cats. 

The Saint Ignatius swimming and diving squad performed well and bonded over a trip to Baltimore, Maryland this weekend for the National Catholic Championships. 

The Wildcats finished fifth out of 23 teams competing at Loyola University Maryland, notching several top finishes. 

The tournament proved to be a perfect chance for the Aqua Cats to come together as a team and prepare for the steep competition the team will see at States.

One of the highlights of the weekend came in the 200 medley relay. The Wildcats' relay team notched a time of 1.35.59, good enough for second out of 23 teams. 

The Aqua Cats also drew some impressive individual times. 

Captain Joey Libertin, a University of Chicago commit, clocked a time of 1.43.76 in the 200 freestyle finals, good for ninth place out of 36 competitors. Senior Marcus Hong captured the title in the 100 fly with a time of 49.82, besting 40 foes. 

Fellow senior Dimitri Simcox claimed 3rd in the 100 free at 47.06. Cian O'Haimhirgin finished fourth (47.33) and Libertin (48.03) earned sixth in the event, too, out of 72 swimmers. 

The diving part of the meet also went quite well. Alex Claus proved to be the best diver at the meet, placing first out of 22 male divers with an impressive 20 points. 

"We had a very productive meet," assistant coach Jim Hlavaty '89 said. "We had many personal bests and the team jelled very well."

Following a highly successful trip to Baltimore, the Aqua Cats return  to the pool on Thursday. The Wildcats will host Brunswick at Cleveland State for Senior Night at 6:15 p.m.