Valparaiso University Men's Swimming

Hunte was named the head coach of the Valparaiso University swimming and diving program in April of 2008 and took over the program in July of 2008. Since his arrival at the helm of the Crusaders, the program's record books have been almost completely rewritten. On the men's side, 18 of 19 swimming records have been set under Hunte's watch, while on the women's side, 13 of 19 records have been broken. The 2014-15 campaign was extremely successful in that regard, as both the men's and the women's team set eight new school records apiece, including breaking a combined 14 records at the Horizon League Championships. Over his seven seasons at Valpo, Hunte's swimmers have been a success in the classroom as well. 10 men and seven women have earned Academic All-Horizon League honors, while Ansel Hillmer was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District V honoree in 2009.  A four-year letterwinner for Fairmont State University from 2002-2006, Hunte served as team captain for three seasons.  He mainly swam the backstroke and butterfly, and was part of setting a pool record in the 200 medley relay for the Fighting Falcons.  He earned All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference accolades while at Fairmont State. Growing up in Venezuela, Hunte was ranked among the top-five backstrokers in the country as a teenager.  He then moved to the United States in 2000 and competed for the Fort Lauderdale Aquatics club. Hunte arrived at Valpo with a wide array of coaching experience as well.  He was the head swim coach for the Fairmont Area swim team in 2006-2007.  With Fairmont, he was responsible for workouts for swimmers ages 13-17.  He also handled all of the meet entries for the club, supervised the assistant coaches for various age groups, and was the representative for all parent board meetings.  Hunte took over the head coaching position after serving a an assistant coach for the swim team from 2003-2006. Hunte also was an assistant swim coach for the West Virginia Southern Zone Team in 2005 and 2006 that competed in Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia. While working on his masters degree, Hunte interned in strength and conditioning at West Virginia University during the 2007-2008 season. Hunte graduated from Fairmont State in 2006 with a bachelor of science degree in physical education, with a minor in health.  He went on to earn his masters of science in athletic coaching education at West Virginia in 2008.

Maggie Kroemer returned to her alma mater as head coach of the Valpo men’s and women’s swimming programs on August 19, 2019. She enters her sixth season in charge in 2024-25. Kroemer has guided Valpo to new heights in her five seasons at the helm. Between the two teams, 18 new individual program records and six new relay records have been set since Kroemer's return to Union Street. Despite guiding a pair of young squads in 2023-24 - 38 of the 50 swimmers combined between the men and the women were underclassmen - Kroemer led the Beacons to great success. The Valpo men earned four dual meet wins, the team's highest win total in a single season in at least 25 years. Meanwhile, the women earned three dual meet wins as well as a pair of ties, their highest win total since 2019-20, and beat multiple D-I teams in the same season for the first time since 2014-15. The women also recorded their highest point total at the MVC Championships since joining the Valley. Individually, six school records were broken in 2023-24 - Jackson Oostman set new marks in the 100 back, the 100 IM and the 200 IM, Anthony Martin lowered the record time in the 100 fly and the 200 fly, and Avery Ball broke the program record in the women's 100 IM. Oostman qualified for a pair of 'B' finals at the MAC Championships and earned a MAC Swimmer of the Week honor, while Martin qualified for one 'B' final as well. On the women's side, Kailyn Benoit earned MVC Freshman of the Week accolades and qualified for a 'C' final at the MVC Championships. The 2022-23 season saw a trio of records fall, as Sara Strauss broke the 100 IM record on the women's side, while Garrett Hoppmann set a new mark in the 50 fly and Jackson Oostmann in the 200 IM on the men's side. Valpo also boasted three weekly award winners from the respective conference offices, as Oostmann was a two-time MAC Swimmer of the Week and Emma Schmidt earned MVC Freshman of the Week accolades. The 2021-22 season was highlighted by the performance of the men's squad at the MAC Championships. In their first championship meet as an affiliate member of the MAC, the Beacons broke program records in each of the meet's first four relay events. The 2020-21 campaign saw Dominic May become Valpo's first conference champion in nearly 20 years, as May touched the wall first in the 200 free at the Summit League Championships. May also joined with Billy Bennett, Adam Chwieros and Brett Little for a 200 free relay performance which earned the quartet All-Summit League honors. In Kroemer's first season as head coach, the program tallied seven dual meet wins - four by the women and three by the men - to far outpace victory totals in recent years. In addition, both the men (Summit League Championships) and the women (MVC Championships) posted their highest point totals in season-ending competition since moving to their respective conferences. May finished as Summit League runner-up in the 200 free to become Valpo's first All-League honoree since 2006. Prior to returning to Valpo, Kroemer spent the 2018-2019 campaign as an assistant coach at Seattle University. With the Redhawks, Kroemer ran the distance group and guided that group of swimmers to 11 new entries in the program’s all-time top-10 charts in her lone season. Prior to moving to Seattle, Kroemer served as an assistant coach for six seasons (2012-2018) at Saint Louis University. Kroemer led the distance, mid-distance and IM practices for the Billikens, as well as serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator. During her time at SLU, Kroemer helped coach the team’s swimmers to nine individual and four relay A-10 conference champion swims. Eight Billiken swimmers combined for 24 NCAA ‘B’ cuts in her six seasons while over her tenure, and SLU swimmers combined to set over 100 school records. Kroemer started her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas-Permian Basin, where she spent two seasons (2007-2009). She also has a wealth of experience coaching at the club and youth levels as well. Kroemer was a four-year letterwinner for the Valpo women’s swim team, competing from 2001 through 2005. An Academic All-Mid-Continent Conference honoree, Kroemer earned seven top-10 finishes over the course of her career at the Mid-Con Championships, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 1650 freestyle as a senior. In her final career swim, Kroemer posted a time of 18:13.22 in the mile – a time which still ranks ninth in program history. Kroemer graduated from Valparaiso University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 2005 and earned her master’s degree in kinesiology with an exercise physiology emphasis from the University of Texas-Permian Basin in 2009.

Paula Chenquer joined Valpo's coaching staff in the summer of 2023. Entering her third season on staff in 2025-26, Chenquer is in her first year as an assistant coach after spending her first two years as a graduate assistant. In her first two years on staff, Chenquer has helped guide the Valpo women to their top two point totals at the conference championship meet since joining the Missouri Valley Conference. On the men's side, the Beacons' 2024-25 MVC championship meet finish was its best at a conference championship meet since 2005-06. Chenquer spent the 2022-23 as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Emmanuel College. She helped guide the Lions as both the women’s squad and the men’s squad won Conference Carolinas championships. Emmanuel had four swimmers earn All-American honors at the Division II national championships. Chenquer swam her final three seasons at Emmanuel, serving as team captain as both a junior and a senior. A distance free and breaststroke swimmer, she qualified for multiple ‘A’ finals at the conference championship meet for the Lions. Prior to her time at Emmanuel, Chenquer swam as a freshman in 2017-18 at Limestone College. She won the 1650 free at the 2018 Conference Carolinas championship while representing the Saints. In addition to her coaching experience at Emmanuel, Chenquer spent the summer of 2019 in a coaching internship at Corinthians swim club in Brazil, coaching 15 and 16-year-old swimmers. Chenquer graduated from Emmanuel in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.

A standout swimmer at Akron for five years, Sara Bozso joins the Valpo men's and women's swimming programs as a graduate assistant for the 2025-26 season.   Bozso was the silver medalist in the 100 breast at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships and was also part of two conference champion relay squads that year. She went on to win the gold medal in the 50 breast at the 2024 National Invitational Championship.   Bozso, who was a member of four MAC championship teams at Akron, closed her career as the program's record holder in the 50 breast. She also ranked sixth in program history in the 200 breast and seventh in the 100 breast. Still an active swimmer, Bozso — a native of Kaposszerdahely, Hungary— has competed at the national and international level this year in 2025. She earned silver medals in the 50 breast and the 100 breast at the Hungarian National Championships, while also finishing in fourth place in the 200 breast. Bozso then swam at the World University Games, making semifinals in all three breaststroke races and making a final as part of the Hungarian 400 medley relay team.   Bozso graduated from Akron in 2024 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science, a minor in athletic coaching education and a certificate in health care selling. An Academic All-MAC honoree, she is enrolled in the sports administration master's program at Valpo. Bozso spent time as a strength and conditioning intern during her time at Akron and worked at Study N Sport, a recruiting service for Hungarian students who are looking to participate in NCAA sports in the United States.