Hempfield grad Jordan Crupie excels leading off 200 medley relay for IUP women’s swimming
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As a junior at Hempfield, swimmer Jordan Crupie posted a time of 57.57 seconds in the 100 backstroke. That was her personal best at the time, and she anticipated trimming a few more ticks from that mark before she headed off to IUP to continue swimming.
But she remained stalled on that time through the next two-plus years. Finally, during the PSAC championship meet last winter, her sophomore year with the Crimson Hawks, Crupie posted a 56.71 in the 100 back final, placing sixth overall.
“I don’t know,” she said. “It just all clicked from the training and everything. It just all came together.”
Clearing that individual hurdle was a big moment for Crupie, and she is hoping to get into the low-56s by the time the conference meet rolls around in mid-February. Where the junior has had her greatest success as a college swimmer, however, is in the medley relay.
Serving as the primary leadoff swimmer (backstroke leg) in the event, Crupie has piled up accolades. She helped the Crimson Hawks earn first in the event at the 2024 PSAC championships, her third time being part of an All-PSAC relay team. In 2023, she earned All-PSAC in the 200 medley and 400 medley relays.
That same year, her medley relay teams also qualified for the NCAA championships, where both earned All-American honors and set school records. The 200 medley relay placed 12th with a program-record time of 1 minute, 42.82 seconds. The 400 medley relay team placed 10th with a program-best 3:44.64.
IUP coach Chris Villa said while Crupie is a strong individual swimmer, her propensity for being at her best in the relays sets her apart.
“She excels in relays, and that’s not always the case,” said Villa, in his 19th season as the Crimson Hawks coach. “Not everybody is mentally suited for the stress and pressure of performing for three other people.
“Jordan has a great mentality. I’m not going to say she’s stress-free, but she never shows that she’s putting any pressure on herself. … She’s one of our leaders … and she definitely handles those types of situations well.”
Crupie said she doesn’t find the relays to be pressure-packed. Rather, she sees it as a privilege to be able to get the medley relay teams off to a good start.
To keep her mind clear of outside noise, she said she tries to focus on some aspect of her technique and go over the race in her head before she hits the water.
Further, she pointed to the connection she has with her relay teammates as an important factor. At various times this season, Crupie has led off medley relays that included sophomores Summer Esson, Tina Cudina, Catrina Miller and Katie Crosscut and grad student Amber Baldani.
“We want each and every one of us to succeed,” Crupie said, “because if even one of us is having an off day, that can also affect the rest of us. So even in practice when we are practicing the relay, we don’t mess around. We take it like we are swimming it for real.
“In and out of the water, we’re real close, too, and always supporting each other, which is very important. Because if you don’t trust those other three girls, then the relay can fall apart.”
Of course, intangibles such as mindset and team chemistry go only so far. Plenty of technique is involved, and when it comes to one particular aspect of Crupie’s swimming, Villa said she is among the best in the country.
The coach was referring to her underwater dolphin kick. That occurs when a swimmer pushes off the wall during a turn then, keeping the body straight and hands at the side, moves in a motion similar to how a dolphin glides through the water.
It can help a swimmer save energy for when they break the water and have to resume their strokes.
Villa calls Crupie’s underwater dolphin kick “probably some of the best 15 meters, definitely in the conference. I don’t think it would be out of the realm of saying it’s top 25% in the country.
“It sets you up for success in a relay, especially in that shorter sprint in the 200 medley.”
Crupie also has the benefit of training with one of the best backstroke competitors in Division II. As a freshman last season, Kasha Stokes won PSAC championships in the 100 and 200 backstroke and earned honorable mention All-American status by finishing 13th in the 100 back at the NCAA championships.
“We practice every single day together,” Crupie said. “We just use each other as motivation. We both want to get better, so having that healthy competition, it helps me. It helps her. It helps us stay on track with everything, and we don’t get caught up in times.
“We just want each other to succeed in as many ways as we can.”
The relay is her forte, but Crupie, Villa said, also has the potential to place in the top three in the conference in the 100 backstroke.
Her quest for PSAC medals in her individual event and the relays resume when IUP returns to competition Jan. 17 at Bloomsburg, one of the top teams in the conference. But if IUP — or anyone else — wants to win a PSAC championship, it is West Chester that stands in the way.
The West Chester women have won 15 of the past 16 PSAC titles. The only interruption was the covid season of 2020-21, when IUP won the title. The past three years, IUP has been the runner-up to West Chester.
Crupie said she is confident IUP has the team to break West Chester’s stranglehold on the conference title.
“We just had a great midseason meet,” she said. “We’re just going to keep working for that, hopefully, that No. 1 trophy. We’ve gotten second, but this year I do believe that we have the talent to potentially get first place.”